The holiday season this year was strange and unusual for me. This is because I didn’t have the opportunity to take time off from work like I typically do in order to hang out with my daughter during her winter break.  We also use this time to travel and visit with our family and friends back home.

I guess I never really realized how much this time and travel meant to us until this year when we didn’t have it. The holiday season is our year-end time to chill and not have to worry about dashing out of the house every morning before 7am, dealing with school, work and crazy schedules. It’s the one time of the year that we get to stay up late chit-chatting with the family we hardly see without worrying about the time. We allow ourselves to be lazy and festive at the same time. Spending this quality time together and with family is what makes our holiday season truly magical.

Christmas has now passed and the New Year is closing in on us.  With just hours away from ringing in 2014 I find myself feeling sad about missing out on this time with my daughter and our family and in my regret I said out loud “In 2014 I will make sure my daughter and I take time off to visit with family over the holidays no matter what,  in 2014 we are going to do more things, no more pushing back because of other things getting in the way”.

Okay so I had a few moments of feeling sorry for myself but I’m over that now.  Regardless of how much time we had together my daughter and I still had a wonderful holiday together even if it was sans travel and family.

I think planning for a “better” New Year is something most of us do though without thinking much about it. With good intentions and holiday spirit we anticipate the pending New Year chanting about all the glorious “better” things to come. How many times have you heard someone say, “this year is going to be different, this one will be better than the last”?

Well I for one have been guilty of this many of times including this year. I was so disappointed about not having the precious time with my family this holiday season I kept saying “never again, next year will be different”.

But as I proceeded with preparing for the New Year’s celebration my daughter and I will be having together this year (as the dynamic duo) I realized that I have been in the terrible habit of saying (thinking) next year, next time, some day far too much. In fact those thoughts and words should be banned from existence because all they do is keep us in a waiting place.

Living in the moment, the present is truly the best place to be. It just never occurred to me how often I allow myself to push things out because it might not be the right time until now.

The time is now.

I’ve never been a big fan of the New Year’s resolution. The last one I made was about twenty years ago. The resolution I made (way back then) was to never make another New Year’s resolution again…and I haven’t since then. This year I’m going to break that resolution and make a new one.

This “New” Year will be the “Now” year for me.

I will be more conscious, mindful and deliberate about living in the moment and it will be about the “now” not about the “next year” or “next time”.

I am wishing all my family, close friends and readers an amazing celebration of the “Now Year”!

I am (now),
The Urban Mountaineer