“A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.”

— Alexander Smith

Welcome to 2012.  Another cycle of the year is complete; and although the universe really doesn’t stop to take a breath between one year and the next, it is our human tradition to pause, take stock of the old year and turn our attention toward the new.  2011 was a year full of living.  It was made up of joy and sorrow, of good times and bad, of challenges met and overcome; and at this time of pausing, I take a moment to compare myself at the start of 2011 to the person who steps over the next threshold of a new year.  I have changed — not the sort of change that comes from being batted about by life, but the sort of transformation that comes from meeting life in a different way.  When a friend raised the question last year about what word I carried into 2011, the answer was, “transformation,” and I am not ready to leave that word behind.

We talk, at this time of year about ringing out the old year and ringing in the new; but do we really live our lives in such a cut-and-dried fashion?  It may be winter, but January first is a time of harvest.  Just as the autumn harvest calls us to the field to gather the good things we have grown and store them for the winter, the turning of the calendar to a new year calls us to gather all the good things that have grown in us and from us in the passing year and store them up for the years that lie ahead.  Just as the autumn harvest calls us to sort and winnow and leave behind what does not serve our needs, the winter harvest calls us to acknowledge some things that have been a part of our growing season and then leave them in the field where they belong.  Just as the autumn harvest calls us to burn the remains of summer so that they will not carry disease into a new season, the harvest of January first calls us to let go of the pain of our learning and carry with us the wisdom that has grown from our experiences.

When change becomes transformation, we no longer look to a new year with the anticipation of what it will bring to us.  Instead, we look to a new year as an opportunity to bring something to our world and leave it forever changed, at least in a small way.  I will not leave “transformation” behind.  It is not a burden to be carried in my knapsack as I walk; rather, it is the sweet buoyancy that quickens my step and carries me along with excitement, gratitude, and anticipation for each new day.  Instead, I will add a friend to share the road with transformation.  ”Legacy” will be our new traveling companion.  Let us set out on this first day of 2012 determined to be transformed; and then let us consider the legacy we will leave as we walk.

When I look back through the years I have journeyed through life, I become aware of all the seeds planted by my ancestors that one day grew to be the trees where I rested in the shade or enjoyed the fruit or listened to the birds call from their nests.  With hearts full of gratitude, let us step into a new year with our knapsacks full of seeds.  Plant today the trees that will serve the future.  There is no need to worry about what the year might bring to us.  Instead, let us transform our vision of today so that we recognize all that was planted long ago and now delights us with its goodness and wisdom.  Let us know for certain that each small seed we plant will one day bring such blessings to another.