Isn’t anticipation delicious? That feeling of excitement laced with the knowledge that something great is just about to happen. Children experience it the night before Christmas, while we adults often experience it right before a well-needed vacation or time off.
What if we could bottle that feeling, and spray it on each day after brushing our teeth or drinking our coffee? To be clear anticipation is not just a euphoric feeling that happens when all is right with the world. Beethoven’s Ode to Joy may seem like the definition of musical anticipation, a melody so rich with joy we start to smile just hearing it. And yet he contemplated suicide 22 years before he wrote the Ninth Symphony, he was going deaf and his life was continually tough. Deciding to commit to a life with more anticipation than disappointment is not about actual happenings, it’s our response to them.
Perhaps we decide not to write a batch of resolutions for the coming year, but instead create opportunities for feeling wonder, allowing small pockets of positivity to rejuvenate and calm us when things get tough. Making the new year work doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges, it means we will decide to put more emphasis on what makes us feel good–joy breaks–despite the challenges.
Here’s wishing you a year filled with joy, appreciation and awe.
