The New Year means so many things to so many people. To many it means a fresh start, an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and begin again. It is a chance to let go of the old and to bring in the new. It is so refreshing to be able to let go of everything that is in the past and to look to the future with the optimism that a new beginning allows you. A new year is symbolic of the death of the past and the birth of a new future. This is definitely a cause for celebration.

When a new year begins, some people become contemplative about the past and make resolutions to create a better future. Some people see the start of a new year as a special occasion that needs to be celebrated with friends, family and those dear to them: the hugs and kisses when the clock strikes twelve, the smiles, the joy, the celebrations.

But what if we could see everyday as an opportunity to start afresh? What if we could see everyday as a cause for celebration with those who really matter to us? What if we could see everyday as an opportunity to let go of the past and to welcome in the future with optimism and hope? What if we could be contemplative enough to understand our mistakes of the previous day so that we can create fresh resolutions that could bring us closer to becoming deeply happy, fulfilled human beings? What if we could die to the past everyday? Then perhaps each day too would become a celebration.

And what if we could see each and every moment as a new beginning? What if we could die to the past in every single moment? What if we could see each moment as an opportunity to let go of all that has come before it? What if we could see each moment as an opportunity to forgive ourselves and to forgive others so that we can drop the past weight of guilt, blame, loss or anger in order to welcome the optimism, joy and hope of a new beginning? What if each moment was celebrated and welcomed in the way that a new year is?

Then perhaps a life lived in this way, no matter how long or even how short, would become a total celebration.

A life lived in this way, in total awareness of the magic that is contained within a single moment that is not being tugged by the strings of the past, is a life of total and absolute freedom.

It is a life full of celebration.

It is in dying to every moment that we can be born into a life of ultimate freedom.

This must be what is meant by 'dying' in order to live.

Happy new year.