I've always thought the phrase 'Happy New Year' was a bit strange. Are we celebrating getting through the year, or the fact we've made it to yet another? Whichever it is, we're being told to be 'happy' about it.
Being told we should be happy, is a bit like someone starting a sentence "this is the funniest thing you'll ever hear", or canned laughter telling us when we should laugh. Personally, I don't appreciate being told what I should find funny, as quite frankly, that's for me to judge.
'Happy New Year' seems harmless enough, doesn't it? It's the traditional gesture passed down through the generations, and it's the throwaway gesture we're bombarded with, even before the New Year has started.
The fact is not everyone is happy, so being told they should be happy, can be like turning the knife. Somebody who may appear to have everything they could possibly desire in life, may not be happy. Somebody sending out a 'Happy New Year' message, may not be happy. Somebody you may have spent time laughing and joking with over Christmas, may not be happy.
Now, I'm not asking you to stop saying 'Happy New Year' if that's your thing, but I would like you to consider following it up with "I hope you're okay, but if you'd like to talk my door is always open", or something along those lines (you know what I mean). Maybe reach-out to people one on one and ask, "how was your Christmas?" or just "how are you?".
Christmas can be a difficult time for a lot of people, and we're going through ever more challenging times. Not being happy is NO failure. Life can be tough, and we all approach things in different ways. What we can do is look out for one another and make sure others know you're there if needed.
All the best
Ross
Comments