Passages, Experiences, Themes: Happy New 2012!

Noted poet Frederic Ogden Nash (1902 – 1971) once said, “Every New Year is the direct descendant, isn't it, of a long line of proven criminals?” While that assessment may seem too harsh, the general sentiment is that the past couple of years have not been the best. Some have branded 2011 as the most tumultuous year in recent memory. Actually many could easily take offense at the performance of several of the last few years. The story of two Australian explorers, Messrs. Hume and Hovell, captures this well. In 1824, the two explorers led an expedition whose goal was to find new land in the colony and a route from Sydney to Melbourne. After endless hiking they crested a mountain only for faulty equipment and expansive vegetation to dash their hopes. All they could see before them was an unending corrugation of hills and valleys. Dejected by the experience Hume named the outcrop Mount Disappointment.

Start Afresh

As we approach 2012 it is tempting to look at previous years and end up dejected by the disappointments. Traditions like setting New Year resolutions and creating new goals become distasteful in the face of numerous experiences of strong starts with poor endings. But this time around it is different. I am hesitant to lump this particular New Year in the same gang as the long line of underperforming years that have left families, individuals, and nations alike frustrated and wary at the experience of another New Year. 2012 is not part of “the same old story”. This New Year brings freshness in a vastly unique way. If there were a time to begin afresh this is it!

Passages

Years ago while at the University of Nairobi in Kenya I made a habit of engaging in the practice of creating a theme for the New Year at the end of every year. I had a mentor at that time that did the same and he encouraged me to implement this practice. I found it to be a refreshing practice while in college and continued to implement it through the entire four years of my stay at the university. However, on coming to the US in 2001 the move signified a wholly new passage. The move brought about uniquely transformational stages of adaptation, and a number of transitions that necessitated less focus on the habit of continuing with this practice.

Experiences

Even after moving away from the practice, the past ten years of my experience in the US have been magical. I came here with $140 in my pocket, a small 21-inch suitcase, and knowing only one contact that I had only talked to once on a transcontinental call. Ten years later, I have had amazing experiences in numerous states. The best of these being my marriage in Ashland City, Tennessee in 2004; my son’s birth in Omaha, Nebraska in 2006; and my daughter’s birth in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2009. Other experiences include my graduation from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 2004; and Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana in 2010.

Themes

As 2012 approaches, the New Year marks the beginning of my second decade in the US. I’ve gone through all the stages of adaptation as I’ve embraced the passage into a new culture: honeymoon, rejection, isolation, assimilation, and acceptance. Though my family and origins are close to 9000 miles, almost 14,000 kilometers – or roughly an eighteen hour flight away, I’ve been privileged to travel back home six times over the course of my first ten years in the US. As I start this second decade of life in the US, I am encouraged to revive the practice of creating a theme for the New Year.

In this spirit, I am naming 2012 as my Year of Values and Virtues. Why values and virtues? This theme is inspired by the passages and amazing experiences that I’ve had in my first ten years in the US (see above). When my wife and I got married, we created a document that we referred to as our “nuptial values”. These values have held strong and as our family grows we want to further establish these values within the core of who we are. Towards this end we have fleshed out the values into a series of virtues which we will be focusing on through some pet projects.

PET project one: NAJETS

In marking this new focus and a new beginning, starting with the month of January I will be engaging in a fun experiment, PET project one, involving the maintenance of a video blog titled Najets. The Najets project will be a learning vlog delivered five days a week with nuggets on a variety of life and leadership topics that are critical to personal development. In this fun journey Najets simply represent ideas and insights that relate to personal passages, experiences, and themes which are communicated through the medium of online video. Though this will be a fun project the goal is to make the Najets empowering in nature and ultimately a helpful venture. (Okay, NAJETS is also an acrostic for Najoli - Educator, Trainer, Speaker).

Closing

I hope you are ready to make 2012 your best year yet. For me, the highlight will be completion of my doctoral studies at Indiana Wesleyan University. This will create space for even more PET projects. If this post resonates with you, my esteemed reader, do let me know some of the passages, and amazing experiences you’ve had over the last few years. Also, share your theme and any sharable projects you will be undertaking in the New Year. Just write in the comments section of this blog or reply to the note. Given that I started this post with a poet’s perspective I’d like to end it with another poet’s take on the New Year. Thomas Stearns “T.S.” Eliot (1888-1965) said, “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning”.

Happy New Year!