Join the new world

Happy New Year as we stumble bleary eyed into 2015, mumbling and grumbling about the past and our heads packed full of childlike optimism for the future.

Each of us will have been through a 2014 of ups and downs. Challenges and joys. Frustration and relief. Some will have had a year that they will describe with positive superlatives, and others quite the opposite. The single thing that binds us all is that we made it to this point and thus we have a chance to bumble and fumble our way to the next major calendar event.

In all reality, the act of the New Year means nothing. The chime of midnight has no great Cinderella properties. Carriages do not become pumpkins, fortunes do not change and fireworks are merely pretty explosives polluting the air. Yet still year after year, we ritualize this moment with over analysis of our past, promises and plans for our future; sealing the self-made pact with a drink or three.

All that humbug to one side, what New Year does bring is a convenient mutual milestone. A socially acceptable pause-point at which all of us can talk of cleansing the ills of our past and marching forwards more boldly into a better future. Whether it be losing weight, stopping smoking, being nicer to your friends, traveling more or working less. Almost every one of us will make a promise to ourselves regarding how we will change for the better. The majority of us will break those promises before the end of January, with much of the balance dissipating into a mist before the end of April.

As we enter this particular New Year, perhaps we could all try to do so with a conscious mind. Not one of self-directed promises we know we will break, but with outward focused, simple things that make our world a better place. Tiny things that make another persons life that little bit easier and more enjoyable. Micro-steps of positive actions that grow into virtuous circles. Holding the door open for the person behind you, smiling and saying good morning to complete strangers, leaving an extra 1% tip in a cafe, putting something in the buskers guitar case or helping out at the local soup kitchen for a couple of hours, smiling and waving someone out at a road junction, or joining peaceful action and protest to improve your local community.

The New Year is a unique time where everyone carries out a small reset. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could all spend a little more time on the "happy" rather than the "prosperous?" 7 billion or so people spending their every-days with a focus on trying to make the lives of those around them happier? Who knows, in such a world maybe even governments would remember what they were elected for and spend time creating a positive environment for their citizens, rather than perpetuating their own political careers.