How would you describe 2016? It’s been so bad for some of my friends that they want to stay up until midnight tonight just to watch the old year die. I’m always up for a decent death bed vigil too, but I’m also a horror writer. I’m tempted to cut off its head and drive a stake into its heart for good measure!
But why was 2016 awful for so many people? I suppose we could blame the infamous Mercury-in-Retrograde or the rise of our God Emperor, Trump. Perhaps it is a little of Column A and a bit from Column B. If we work out the numerological value of 2016, adding each digit of the year together, we end up with 9, the number of completion, where all things must come to an end.
I know well enough that not all stories can end on a high note. If they did, happiness simply wouldn’t mean as much. The difference between it and sadness allows us to both recognize and savor joy’s sweetness.
More importantly, however, our stories are not over. You may feel like you played the villain in this chapter of your life. You may think that you played almost no role at all in your life this year—that you were little more than an extra in another person’s big scenes. 2017 promises to be different. When we add up its digits, we are left with 10. In Western numerology, 10 is reduced to 1, meaning 2017 is a year for fresh starts and new ventures.
Tonight, wherever you are, whether you are alone or surrounded by friends and fireworks, take a moment to purposefully wish 2016 farewell. Close your eyes and thank the year for what it has given you. Mourn what it has taken away. Tell it to go screw itself if you must! Then say goodbye. Let it go. You will be here tomorrow. You will be here, in 2017, but it won’t be. You survived and it did not.
Congratulations. You survived.
Happy New Year.