A Ray of hope for New Year
by Lal Kannangara
Everybody has some sort of hopes, be they big or small, they try to
fulfil them. It is appropriate to discuss new year resolutions, as we
have just stepped into 2010. Some people have new year resolutions while
others have a nodding acquaintance of them. New year resolutions are the
hopes that people have in store for the coming year. People all over the
globe have had new year resolution for a long time. Some of the popular
new year resolutions are giving up smoking, drinking, studying hard for
examinations, saving money, finding a job, learning something new,
buying a vehicle or a house, finding a partner or spending time in a
productive way, etc.
 It is worthwhile to ponder about the importance of having new year
resolutions. Are they really necessary? Some people say that they are
really important. Hopes are shattered due to various reasons. People who
couldn’t fulfil their hopes tend to have new year resolutions. People
usually have positive resolutions. In a nutshell, nobody will have
negative resolutions. In this context new year resolutions are great.
The ways that we are going to fulfil them are of paramount
importance. Hopes help people to lead their lives happily. So we all
must have hopes, we must not resort to harmful shortcuts to achieve
them. We should determine to fulfil our hopes not causing any harm or
injustice to society. Our hopes cannot be fulfilled unless we work hard.
The following verse will give you a vivid picture of sheer hard work and
devotion to work in fulfilling the aims.
“Heights that great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flights
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upwards in the nights.”
Many people have a heap of resolutions but they tend to break them
half way. A host of reasons can be cited for their failures such as
unavoidable circumstances. Weak characters, instability, lack of
confidence and lack of perseverance. Some people say that the beginning
of a new year is the ideal time to have such resolutions and the hopes
are registered in their mind right throughout the year.
Others are totally against new year resolutions. They argue that
people should not wait till new year to have resolutions. Apart from
that, it is a waste of time, they argue. They further say that any day
should be a new day and people should try to fulfil their resolutions
daily. They must have short-term goals rather than long-term goals.
However, a cross section of people aired their views in relation to
new year resolutions.
Ven. Yatiyana Wimalabuddhi Thera, the principal of Horawala Navodya
M.V. Matugama was very optimistic on this concept. “Though it is not our
own calender, we have to act according to the existing calendar. So I
believe January 1 to be the ideal day to have such resolutions. We have
to encourage our younger generation to have new year resolutions.
Thereby they will try to brighten their lives. How long have we been
telling that ours is a developing country. When we were small, we were
told that our country was a “developing” one. Now we tell our children
the same story. We will have to say something in future as well. Why is
it? Our people are so lethargic and they have no hopes at all. With that
kind of mindest, we will be no where in the world. Time is ripe to
change our pessimistic attitudes for a better tomorrow. I think “Every
man is an architect of ones own future.”
As a monk, I have to stress that Buddhism does not discourage anyones
progress. Buddhism teaches what is good and what is bad. I strongly
believe that everybody must have new year resolutions.”
M. D. Chamari Sanjeewani, a chartered student seeking university
admission aired her views, “New year generally reminds us of new hopes
as well as new feelings. As a student, I also have new resolutions but
they are not in relation to the new year. In my view, they should not be
confined to the beginning of the year. I think, we should not wait for
the new year to have such resolutions. What is important is to make them
true by doing hard work. However, I see no reason in criticising this
concept.”
Samanthe Kariyawasam, an English teacher at Dela, Ratnapura had some
revolutionary ideas.
 “I think this is a mere faded sentimental notion today with people
leading a very hectic competitive lifestyle. Had there been any
significance attached to “new year resolutions” in the past, it is lost
today with economic sensitivities. I don’t think they are really
necessary because the days to come are uncertain and anything can happen
at any moment.”
“I think people should not wait for the new year to have such
resolutions. Though most people have new year resolutions they tend to
break them because they live amidst a lot of difficulties. They are
pressurised by economic problems, family matters and so on. People
cannot hold onto firm resolutions as they tend to perish eventually. So
they dream big as they all would lead to agony and frustration at the
end. “I don’t think that this concept is imported or imitated.
Resolutions are not celebrations like Valentine day or any other
cultural extravagance.
“Finally, I have to say that anybody can have any number of new year
resolutions. You make them when the circumstances are ripe and
subsequently shatters them when the situation is bad. So it is very
personal. Your determination, commitment and dedication will help you to
fulfil what you want whether they are new year, monthly or weekly
resolutions,” he said.
Thushara Kariyawasam, a lawyer viewed it from a different angle.
“Hopes are decisive factors to encourage in the days ahead of us. No
matter whether it is east or west, at new year dawn, people try to
fulfil their aspirations which were not accomplished in the previous
year. Individuals as well as the country as a whole can have
resolutions.
As a lawyer, I have come across many different individuals. They too
have high hopes in the cases they get involve. I have to stress that
there is no discipline in our country. Wherever we go we witness this.
People are so impatient to get their work done. They fight with one
another even for a trivial matter. So as a nation, we must live in a
peaceful way helping one another. That should be the idea of new year
resolutions that all must have.
Are new year resolutions essential? Your guess is as good as mine. |
