January 1st is probably the worst day for making major life decisions.
You wake up with a jolt, still wearing those ridiculous glasses that spell out the year, aching from a night spent sleeping on a crushed party hat that somehow managed to lodge itself under the small of your back. You’re tired. You’re hung over. As the morning wears on, you gradually remember the various poor decisions you made the night before: removing your shoes on the dance floor…sharing a cab with a guy who had more tattoos than teeth…convincing yourself that you actually like Champagne…
Clearly, this is not the time to plan the next twelve months of your life. I think the old year needs to be looked at with at least two days’ retrospect before we go making goals for the new one. In fact, I don’t even recommend making more than one resolution. Just pick one thing that you’ve always wanted to do, one road you’ve never tried, and try it.
And while you’re at it, take a listen to this sweet little song about new beginnings.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The lyrics: “Let the old house burn / To stem and stern / We love, sometimes we learn / But we’re just living now.” A great chorus for forgetting the mistakes of the previous year.
2. The two voices are panned left and right. If you listen on headphones, you’ll hear AM on your left and Meiko on your right. It’s a nice effect, and appropriate for a song about standing by people.
3. The piano that comes in just before the two-minute mark. Not overdone, not fancy, but just enough song to nicely fill out the song.
Recommended listening activity:
Taking a small step in the right direction.