Fireworks
It’s how we begin the year, it’s how we mark many of our most cherished holidays—Independence Day, sometimes Christmas, weddings, birthdays—it’s the celebratory event that never gets old. Fireworks. Whatever the reason or excuse we give, we essentially celebrate life with fireworks. I’m here for that.
Celebrating the New Year
I began this year in a simple way: out on the street in Miami where I live, enjoying the fresh air on my skin, a cocktail in hand, watching the neighborhood display of fireworks that started near dusk and continued through midnight. Seriously, so many, all night long! I set off a few dinky ones myself in the road in front of my house. Watching them gave an oddly satisfying feeling for such a small action. I wished I had gotten some bigger ones.
Starting Fresh
This New Year is a special one for me, a dividing line between a black hole of a situation that had me trapped in an endless night, and the colorful horizon of the sun rising on the rest of my life. I feel freed to enjoy the things I enjoy, stretch the wings that have been too long bound to my sides, and refocus my efforts on my own projects and things that make sense for me.
As I stared up into the sky, watching the twinkling, popping sparks in the sky, I felt how I always feel watching fireworks—with a mix of awe, hope, happiness at watching the little sparks dancing in their varied designs, gratefulness for what I’m celebrating, and gratefulness for the simple joy of being outside on a balmy night celebrating anything.
Don’t let anyone ever dull your sparkle.
Marilyn Monroe
Celebrating Life
In this moment, I’m reminded of how important it is to be free, to be your true self, to allow yourself to smile at the simplest joys of life. How important it is to in fact make time and make a point of experiencing those simple joys while you can. While most of the Northern Hemisphere is locked in the grip of a freezing winter at the moment, here in Miami it feels like a summer night of my youth, with months of freedom ahead of me and the standing question of who I will be and how I will have changed come September. It’s a fitting image for this moment, and one I think I will hold on to as I make my resolutions and plan the year to come.
Related post: Gratitude
Do What Makes You Happy
For me, fireworks is a cherished tradition of celebration. The visual show helps demarcate these important moments. Even better, it gives an excuse for meeting with friends and partaking in refreshment, while being outside in the fresh air and gazing at the night sky. Time shared and appreciated is everything!
I’m so happy that I began this year in such a simple way that I enjoy, and I hope to continue along this same arc for the rest of the year. In fact, I’ll make a point of looking back at this moment throughout the year to keep me on course. I think that remembering how the year began will help me remember my goals for this year. And remembering those goals will help me make the right decisions in how I spend my time.
This year it’s about putting my energy only into what helps me build the life I love. In the end, simple pleasures are what lead to a rich, full life. So throughout the year I’ll be focusing on these simple joys of life. Simple joys are what makes me happiest anyway. I have always known that. That joyful, grateful energy has, however, gotten lost over the past couple of years in my life. Definitely this year I’ll be bringing it back.
How did you begin your year? What are some things that you hope to accomplish, or hope will make this year different from the last? I, for one, hope that we get somewhat back to “normal” this year, without leaving behind some of the positive changes that the Pandemic Years have led us to (hello, comfortable clothes! 😜). Did you start the year with fireworks like me?
