happy new year

the flowers that bloomed this year
are commensurately as beautiful as those
that appeared last year.
the beings who exist this year
have now become older
than they were at this time last year.
fortune that befalls an individual
tends not last for a thousand days;
flowers tend not to blossom
for more than a hundred days.
this is the function of mother earth
and comes by itself through natural process.
treasure your opportunities now,
we have nothing when they have departed.
on this very day last year–
at this entry point–
your face and the poinsettias flushed the same.
yet now your lovely face has slowly diminished,
but the poinsettias radiate just as brightly
with the winter wind’s return.
please pay attention,
make time for the essence of this life–
right now is a good time to start,
making a resolution in the future,
is truly an exercise in futility–
change can only exist
in this very moment in time.
whatever that resolution might be,
just do it now,
yes,
right now this very moment–
don’t wait
or life will have passed you by.
happy new year
may we all find everlasting peace
in the unfolding chaos of the cosmos.

photo: passiflora, Maui, HI by Paul Lynch