New year, new beginnings

When Johnson Oatman Jr wrote the much-loved hymn Count your blessings in the 18th Century, he had it in mind that we have to be thankful to our maker for what we have.

Apart from fatigue from the festive jubilees, many people find themselves in misery when the year starts. Ranging from school fees for children to regrettable festive flings, life becomes unbearable for most people. BG Style offers some of the little things we should remember to celebrate in the midst of January. Better things to meditate on and move on.

The gift of life
In as much as we miss and mourn the people we have lost, we should not forget to give gratitude for being alive. It is an indication that it is not over yet. Our dreams may seem to have faded, but being alive is the best gift one should celebrate every day. Enjoy your moment of solitude, take a walk down the park, listen to the birds singing and take pictures.

That trip
Maybe it was a honeyed weekend in Zanzibar, a memorable summer on the boat, a voyage to the Okavango Delta, or a good old-fashioned bush walk. Whatever it was, there is always one trip that we look back on and remember fondly and in detail, down to where we ate, the adventures we took, and, importantly, who we were with.

Your schooling days
While some may not exactly miss the boatloads of homework and late night exam revision sessions, here is the truth: school is actually pretty awesome. University days were the best. From a life of freedom, to being in the same class with the smartest brains, varsity life was just amazing. Between a huge selection of classes, you could miss classes without being spanked since the ball was in your court.

Free gifts
Remind your children that they give you joy. It may be listening to their giggles. Cherish your wife, or your husband. Family will always be there for you. Buy your wife flowers to express your heartfelt affection for her.
Call your husband at work to remind him that you are proud to have him as your soulmate. Celebrate your siblings and your friends.
The people in our lives are there for a purpose.

Say it
We hardly say, ‘I love you’ enough. In close relationships it seems implicit so we do not say anything, figuring that they just know, that it is all right we take them for granted. Invariably, the sorrowful day comes where we deeply desire to tell them everything, to tell them we love them over and over again to tell them everything they mean to us, and yet, on that day and forever after, we won’t be able to.

Being single
For some people, giving away the bachelor or bachelorette status is every New Year’s resolution. However, the delay for that special one to come becomes depressing.

The belief is that the grass is always greener on the other side. Patience, as it is often said, is divine. Good things come to those who wait. Go out with your friends to have fun, buy a new book.