Happy New Year 2010

Bright and Happy in the Year of the Tiger 2010

The character for Bright is 明 (mei, akarui), and this is also the character that begins the New Year's Greeting which people exchange as their first words when meeting a person at the beginning of the New Year, literally meaning:

Congratulations on the bright newness of things.

明けましておめでとうございます！

Akemashite Omedetō Gozaimasu!

Beginnings are auspicious, full of hope and new possibilities, a chance to start over from a fresh perspective. The New Year is also a chance to return to Beginner's Mind (初心 shoshin).

So is the ritual of exchanging New Year's cards, such as the one above.

I selected the character for Bright also as a theme for the year. 明 is made of two parts, Sun 日 and Moon 月, representing the combination of projected and reflected light, the opposites of Yang and Yin, which both brighten our world by making everything possible. It is the world of opportunity.

I chose the brush to express it, because calligraphy is an art of capturing the fleeting opportunity on paper. A good friend commented that the left-hand radical in the character reminded him of a Tiger's Eye, as well as the Tiger's Eye gemstone.

2010 also happens to be the Year of the Tiger (寅年 toradoshi).

This implies opportunity and caution, approaching your goals step by step with quiet assurance.

Opportunity is where you find it. It makes all the difference if you happen to be looking for it. Opportunity favors the prepared mind. If you assume there is none, that all doors are closed, you will find it is just as you expected. It is not the doors that are open or closed, it is your mind.

Caution is also a challenge. What should we be cautious about? Take care to keep your Beginner's Mind throughout the year, and to associate with positive people, who can help you stay positive. Negative people, or more precisely, negative attitudes can drag you down. Misery loves company, and will seek it to feed and reinforce itself. Taking care is also caring for and about others.

Therefore the real opportunities are there for people who seek and share them with others of Bright mind.

Make this a Great Year, and share your Brightness with others. Your candle can light the candles of others.