This time of year is really a time of reflection, usually about the past year. What hits me most is usually how fast the past year went by. Each year as we look forward it seems like so spread out and it will take forever to get to the next New Year, but each year as we look back we are usually amazed at how quickly it passed.
That is something i reflect on, how time truly passes so quickly and years do actually slip by. Maybe it is because I am getting older and have suffered many losses, or B”H I watch my grandchildren grow and are amazed at how quickly the transitions happen. The realization that time passes so quickly makes one think more about how to use their time wisely and how not to waste any time on negativity and nonsense. Life is too short to be angry; Life is too short to hold grudges; Life is too short to put things off; Life is too short to miss opportunities. Family members are precious, good friends are gifts, health is not to be taken for granted.
The values we hold most dear such as love, trust, loyalty & devotion lose their merit without the proper and essential personal effort and energy they require. Each relationship we have whether with our spouse, parent, child, friend, neighbor or Hashem need that effort and energy to be honest and real. Having true emunah and bitachon in Hashem, helps one with the other relationships in their lives. When we come each year to the Yamim Noraim, we are never alone. We are part of a K’lal and we go as one to hear the Shofar and to daven as one to ask Hahsem to heal the sick, to bring peace to Eretz Yisroel, to give Parnasah to the poor, to forgive us and all of K’lal Yisroel of our sins. We think of ourselves, our families, our friends, our acquaintances, all the mispallelim.
Maybe that is one of the great big differences between us and our counterparts. They talk about their New Year’s resolutions. They might say they will: lose weight, stop smoking, start exercising, clean the garage, and some other superficial concepts. They are important but they are singularly important for that individual. We are thinking more in terms of giving tzedaka, doing cheesed, helping our neighbors, etc. Our New Year’s resolutions have to do with bettering the world and other peoples lives not just our own.
So lets all wish each other a K’siva V’chasima Tova. May we all have a sweet New Year and successful year in general, for all and their families and friends as well as K’lal Yisroel.