An Open Letter to 2014

Dear 2014:

Well, I see you have come.  Welcome.  We have managed to arrange some sun and blue skies for your arrival today, which I hope make the day go a little better for you.

Let us start with the point that you are an anticipated arrival.  People throughout the world - even here - have been looking forward to your arrival.  Some have been looking for weeks, some perhaps for months - while others just realized that Christmas went by and something else was following close on.

Why?  For some it is that this year has been a year the likes of which they are simply ready for it to be over.  For others, they are ready for you not so much because last year was bad but because they want to make a new start.  And for a third group last year was a great year for which they want to do even better.

You are a rarity for the human experience:  you arrive as a harbinger of hope.  You are both a known and unknown entity:  known because we know precisely how long you are, unknown because what you bring in that period is shrouded in mystery.  We tend to associate the new and unknown with better, even though we we instinctively know better that such is not always the case.

For myself, I have been deeply looking forward to your arrival - not just because the sense of hope you bring but because I have much to do with you this year.  Every year I get a little bit better at figuring out what I need to pack inside of you, of what I want to see at the end of you.    You offer the ability to live another year, to achieve more, to make more of an impact.

Welcome to you.  I think we are going to have a productive and good time together.

Sincerely,

Toirdhealbheach Beucail