Happy New year!

Happy New Year?... my wish for your 2011 path.

I have been visiting chaplaincy sites today and chatting with ambulance and fire service staff who were quite surprised to see me coming around "the traps". People have been wishing me a "Happy New Year" and I have been reciprocating with "have a good New Year!" or something similar. But what do we mean by that?

- Sometimes we mean that we hope the person has a good New Year's evening. That they will have a good party or a special time of friendship or some thing like that. That is good... some of the most meaningful times I have had with my wife and family have been on New Years eve. Something like 42 years ago before we were engaged we were at a youth camp by a beach in Christchurch and she and I went down to the beach just after midnight and sat in the sand. I cannot remember the heart of the conversation but when it was over we knew that somehow we would be linked for life. So "Happy New Year" can mean have a good or significant time as you see in the New Year.

- But often our wish is that the person will have a good year in the year ahead. When we say "Happy New Year" we are wishing them all the best for their life for the next 12 months. We may well ask "What do you mean by that?" Well I wish you, dear reader, "A Happy New Year", and I will spell out what I mean by that.

Shit Happens - I am realistic enough to know that in 2011 there will be events in your life that will be challenging, that may bring you sadness, that may bring you anxiety. It is dreaming to think that you will have 12 months of bliss. Every life has sad moments and crap in it. I wish for you that the sad, difficult moments will be few.

Health... Again, I know that this does not always happen, but I wish that you will have sufficient health and mobility to feel that you can live with a reasonable quality of life. I know that there are no guarantees, but I wish for you a good measure of health.

Friendships and warmth of relationship... My wish is that as you live and work in your families, your communities or your workplaces that you have warmth, humour and support in your circle of friends and acquaintances. It is sad and soul destroying when people feel alone in this world or when the groups they have to be a part of are groups with dissension, tension and lack of mutual support in them.

Depth in your life... As a ship in a storm is safest when it has power and direction or when it has a good anchorage, I wish that whatever you encounter in 2011, you will have a sense of inner strength. That you will feel connected to "depth" so that you have an inner power to cope with and work through the crap that may come your way.

Significance... Linked to this is that I wish that you feel a sense of significance, purpose and direction in your life. Victor Frankl and others discovered in the horrors of concentration camps, people who kept alive a sense of meaning and significance could face all sorts of horrors and even death with dignity. My wish for you is that you feel that you are doing something significant with your life or that your life is meaningful and fulfilling.

Intimacy... My wish for you is that you will have "intimacy" in your life. Now I do not mean that you will be making love. (though that is OK too!) What I wish for you is that you will have at least one relationship in which you can relax, be yourself and be as completely open as you are able, knowing that person will accept you, support you, forgive you and affirm you as a person.

If you have these things 2011 will be deeply meaningful and significant for you.

In this Bible reading Paul has a great prayer for you for 2011.

And also a song that helps perspective.