Knitting a new year scarf!

Many of us will have watched the snowman by Raymond Briggs again over Christmas. It is, at root, a story about grief and moving on. The happiness of being with the snowman cannot last, the seasons must change. We need to let go as the past melts away into a new springtime. The ending seems sad, even brutal but there is a hidden hope.

As the little boy cries by the pile of snow that was once his friend he reaches into his dressing gown pocket and pulls out the scarf given to him by the snowman.

The scarf is a gathered memory that he will take with him into a new springtime. A comfort as he confronts a new beginning.

As we start this new year there may be many things we will be glad to see melt into the past. There may a heavy heartedness that is not so ready to melt away and things like opportunity or good health that are drifting further away each year. It sounds a bit sad, even brutal, expressed that way. But remember the scarf, a warm memory of the past year, something that connects the past to the future. Can you name the positive and optimistic memories that were given to you in 2022? Find a significant warm memory, recall where it was, who was there and how you felt. When you have done that, think of another, and another until you have knitted your own scarf of gratitude from 2022.

"When in desolation, remember consolation"

St Ignatius

Then, as the new year begins and you hear so much about our struggling planet, disasters and self-interest, wrap the optimism of 2022 around you and let gratitude and hope lead you to build a better 2023 wherever you are.

Happy new year!

The original trailer with David Bowie

Prayer for the new year.

Give us, Lord, the spirit of optimism, a vision to see the positive all around us and to choose to live with joy and to serve with love. Amen.

St. John Bosco, pray for us.

Mary Help of Christians, pray for us