Dolly Koghar gives her generation’s take on seeing off another year and welcoming another.

I shouldn’t have asked hubby dear for his perspective of one less year to live and another year waiting around the bend, ‘cause he always responds with a question, or commences with, “it used to be…” Nevertheless, here are the kernels I gleaned from the cob of his thoughts.

“It used to be a time of frenzy in Osaka; there were books to close and new ones to purchase for the coming year. There were bonuses and bōnenkai parties to give to the GIANSINGH & SONS Co., Ltd. staff, and some to attend with business associates where everybody, but myself, being a teetotaler, drank themselves silly to drown the mistakes of the year past. However, since business doesn’t quite pick up till mid-Jan, some businesses and co-workers preferred to binge on sake at Shinnenkai to reaffirm their commitment to ganbarou, to their best in the new fiscal year.”

“Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear,” so says Ramkrishna Paramahamsa, whereas my sassy friends have their own take on a year finished and done with, and on heralding in a new one.

• “For people who are suffering and struggling with ongoing illnesses or in relationships, welcoming the year can’t mean much. But even for the fortunate, everybody’s resolves and expectations for the coming year depends on their understanding of life itself. While for those that treat life casually, the New Year is just another excuse for superficial thrills.”
• “It’s already December; time just whizzed by and I’m standing at year’s end, while my mind is still grappling with the Chinese New Year party I throw yearly. I’ll hope to be stomping on the daisies instead of pushing them up from 6ft under, in the year(s) ahead.”
• “I should thank you for making me pause and introspect. For the coming year, I am hoping that the worst is already behind us, and a better sense and awareness of consequences prevails in the world. On a personal note, a new year is just a number; a new page on the calendar and an addition to the sequence in records/diaries. For me, what matters more, is the beauty at dawn every morning, bringing along challenges which I’ll overcome, taking steps that day, and every day, towards a goal, however distant.”
• “Too many emotions and thoughts to say in a few words. Year end is a game over, especially when we look at the lives of our aging elders, and the stress they took on for us and where they are at this point of their lives. It makes me wonder what it was all about, and it’s bewildering that those that were once self-sufficient, are now so dependent. Although there’s really nothing we can do about aging, it’s the impermanence of it all that gets to me!”
• “I don’t think that far (anymore); I live for today and enjoy today. For me, every day means a new beginning in which to appreciate every aspect of life and people.”
• “I’ll sum it up in two words: aging gracefully. Whether behind us or upcoming – if we accept and enjoy the process of aging, then life is beautiful. If this becomes life’s mantra, then no matter how many years pass by, those memories can only enrich and enliven the present, creating the lens and positive prospective through which one looks at the upcoming year(s).”
• “Another year behind us; wiser, stronger and more grateful. Welcoming a new year? Every year, I make a resolution to change myself; this year, I’m making a resolution to be myself. Sip, sip, hooray!”
• “I don’t think about it (anymore). I’ll go where life takes me, as our thoughts differ from God’s plan and our destiny creates its own path.”
• “It’s been quite an experience with so much going on around the world and with our lives after the pandemic. I cherish life and that I’m still alive and kicking to welcome a new year when, hopefully, things will get better.”