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B E A Make a Difference
It is that time of the year once more when everyone is filled with promise. Because it is the beginning of a brand New Year, there is always that hope that something different will come along. And with hope is the belief that something different can only be something better. The disadvantage about the past and yesterday is that they have already been lived hence their sting has already been experienced.

If it is their joy; once more it is not as special because it too has already been felt and thus does not have as much power as that which is yet to come.

Many singers and poets have spoken about the power of tomorrow and the promise it holds. Even the Bible talks of how joy will be restored in the morning.

This always brings with it hope even in the toughest of times that surely joy cometh in the morning.

The future presents some element of hope while yesterday is gone with its highs and lows.

If you want to see the promise that tomorrow holds, see how even the most heartbroken person will attempt a smile when comforters tell them that their Prince or Princess Charming is yet to come but will definitely come riding out of tomorrow.

Even those who have lost loved ones are able to grieve a little bit less when they are comforted.

Everyone, no matter how old or young understands that seeing or having enough grace to enter a New Year is not a small matter.

That is why back in the day in Highfield, we would wait up with the adults just so we could join in the shouts of “Happy New Year” when we were not even sure what it really meant.

This is why loud music, fireworks and parties characterise every New Year entry.

When we were old enough to be allowed to go out, we would all gather at some party or club until the first rays of the new day; the first day of a New Year beckoned just so we could enter it with a dance and a song.

Years later it is still the same. We partied up a storm on Wednesday night as we ushered in 2015. That is the power of the New Year. After all it is a fact that 2014 was not an easy year. Many companies closed shop. Many people lost jobs. Many people had their properties and other assets attached after failing to settle their debts.

Even some high fliers suffered this same horror. Many politicians even lost their jobs in the twilight moment of 2014. Many homes broke up for one reason or other and some found themselves with no one to support them.

Liquidity challenges faced everyone and the dollar became elusive. Gone was the era of splashing as Zimbabweans truly began to watch every dollar to see how far it could go and how far it had gone.

Thus it is understandable, just as it was understandable when 2013 gave way for 2014 and 2012 gave way to 2013 and 2011 gave way to 2012 that many people are hoping that with the entry of the New Year is a fresh chance to get it right.

Let us look at New Year resolutions for example. Every beginning of the year, you hear people declare that in the New Year they will stop renting and purchase stands or start building. You hear others say they will lose weight and start exercising.

Others vow to stop drinking saying it is not only harmful to their health but also to their pockets. Some right now have resolved to get married before the end of the year while others have resolved to renovate or refurbish their homes, parents’ homes, attend to graves, put up tombstones and many other issues.

Then there are those who have vowed to leave the toxic relationships they are in. Yes, some have vowed that in this New Year they will not continue with the hopeless relationships they were stuck in or the violent unions where chances are higher to get a beating than an “I love you” on any given day.

They say they will move on. Others have resolved to go back to school or to move jobs so they can fulfil their personal dreams and goals. For others it is to start a new business and close down the loss making concern they are running, while for others it is to leave the country.

Looking up my friends’ walls on Facebook recently, it has all been about resolutions. From them, it becomes evident that many things that people wanted to accomplish in 2014 were not accomplished.

While some carry forward the same goals, others draw up new lists every year and forget about them as soon as they draw them up.

I once got a shock when I opened the back page of my book which I take to church to write important messages I learn from the sermons, to see a list of resolutions made at the end of 2012 so they could be accomplished in 2013.

This was towards the end of 2014 and while I was happy three had been accomplished, I was disturbed that two were not and were totally forgotten. I have added them onto my 2015 list, but given myself end of February for their completion.

As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I have realised that while some may laugh at this whole culture of making resolutions, saying they are just a waste of time, the truth is when we make resolutions we actually make plans.

Anyone without a plan is doomed to fail.

Thus, there is no harm in planning to do better or achieve results. It may not happen exactly as one wants it but at least the plan will be there. Thus, as we enter 2015 here is to making plans for the future; plans that prosper and grow us rather than harm us. Let us nip negative behaviours and practises in the bud and aim for good and better things. The New Year allows us the chance to hope and dream and start anew and do better.

Why not? Therein lies the difference!

So make a list that is realistic and stick with it. At the end of 2015, you will realise that you accomplished all you set out to achieve.

Everything else that ends up just coming your way without being planned for, you can count it all joy for therein is grace and favour which cannot be planned for.

Happy New Year!

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