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Chinese New Year’s Day (Friday 16 February 2018) - End of year reflections.


As the year draws to a close, I started to reflect on what was in the year just about to pass and what could be for the year ahead. Typically everyone gets very upbeat during the holiday break, only to go back to same old, same old in January. I am not immune to this either so I was deep in thought. It is estimated that 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the end of the first month.

Incidentally, I listened to a message by North Point Community Church by Andy Stanley. I share the below excerpt which struck a chord with me and follows on from my previous book review on disappointment: 

‘Dissatisfaction with what we have and what we can afford can lead to discontentment. We live in a culture that tells us newer and shinier is better. So, what do you do when you’re no longer content with what you wear, drive, or live in?’ 

I suspect the above is true for most, if not all of us. We are constantly surrounded by commercials and culture so that it’s almost ingrained in us. At least on a subconscious level, we think that we need all this stuff to make our lives better, but do we? Sure, better things can make life seem more comfortable, but it does seem to have gone too far in the age of consumerism, especially with the built-in obsoleteness of most products and fashion trends.

Gone were the days where we make do and mend or improvise, as it’s often cheaper just to get a new one. Nowadays we are more likely to replace things, even when there is no need but motivated by our desire. Perhaps, we are driven by the array of choices we have and perhaps psychologically certain brands gives us a sense of perceived status or self-worth. The irony is that what needs fixing on the inside cannot be covered on the outside – and I write from experience. 

The stuff we accumulate seems to detract us from living life in its purest form if one doesn’t keep it in perspective. The New Year represents a time of new beginnings, where we can aim to live life in its true wholeness not just to be conditioned by the status quo. Perhaps this year, we can experience minimalism in life without the constant noise “As if there is no change, there won’t be those deeper experiences that truly nourishes the soul.

A great point that the message brought out is that most of us don’t have financial margins for those ad-hoc things that come up, perhaps it gets eaten up needlessly by our constant want for new?

I draw this to a close by wishing you all a very peaceful 2018, where there is deep joy and laughter in every breadth life. 


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