HAPPY NEW YEAR, LONG LIFE AND PROSPERITY
By Taiye Olaniyi
Every human being desires hapinness in life and this is cherished as a carry over from one year to another. As one year or the other rolls out and another rolls in, no matter when and what date starts each year’s calendar date, there is always that pleasantries of Happy New Year, Long Life and Prosperity.
We desire better experiences as years roll bye and if possible, that we count numerous years on mother earth and also enjoy the splendour of opulence. The question then is, in actuality would the wish for happy new year, long life and prosperity bring about their realisations in true sense of it? What difference does a new year project or present just as a result of the wish by others or chain of attitudes we individually and collectively exhibit?
It is likely that a new year and longer life we live on earth are anchored much more on our individual and collective thoughts, words and actions that eventually culminate in outright destination of experiences. Every year no matter how old or fresh culminates us in myriads of reactions to our remote and immediate actions and inactions.
We may decide to prolong or shorten our lives by whichever way we want but then the environment, the conglomerates of thoughts and actions more pronounced in one's society we live in, in the same token, have plethora of roles to play in whether or not longevity and prosperity would be greatly experienced by all and sundry of wishful thinkers.
We need not over jubilate nor be dismayed when we are being wished a happy new year, long life and prosperity. As we think, so we are, as we daily project our thoughts so we harvest a lot of experiences now and future times ahead no matter the spans.
The Divine never meant us to suffer from year to year, not in the least will He lengthen our years for the sake of it neither will all sorts of prosperity come our way whether or not we deserve them. Instances abound in every year where what we call miracles happen and we feel humbled by the divine intervention, similarly our powerlessness does come to stare us in the face when the unbecome becomes and we are rattled in our previous belief and faith in a happy new year, long life and prosperity.
There is that beauty, hope and yearning for the joy of a new year, the happiness and peace which I wish for us all as we move in from today and roll into a new year in this part of the world. But then, we all have great roles to play in what our experiences will always unfold unto us according to our spiritual poise, our attitudes toward life and living and innumerable acts of commission and omission wherein we are inhabitants.
Year 2024 is fast rolling in, a reflection on the journey so far could help benchmark us into making the best out of life, reconstructing our thoughts, projecting into marvellous year ahead but truly committing our spiritual and mundane energies to the realisations and realities of Light, Life and Love as I join others to wish us all, "Happy New Year, Long Life and Prosperity."
Taiye Olaniyi, a retried Postman of the Nigeria Postal Service, is based in Lagos.