"I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray," 1999 - Prince

Christmas has passed and presents have probably already been tucked away and forgotten. And here we are: the 1st of January 2013. It's difficult for me to fully comprehend that it's 2013. I keep having flashbacks to 11:55pm on the last day of 1999. Most of the world seemed stressed and anxiety ridden over the much publicized possibility of a computer meltdown, Y2K. But in my small town, we were concerned about only one thing, partying our way into a new century. And we did it right, grooving away to what seemed the most appropriate song we could find, the epic "1999" by Prince. They lyrics jammed out of the speakers and every time the chorus came on everybody sang along. They were the only words we knew,

"they say two thousand zero zero party over
Oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999".

We didn't really realize it at the time, but we were singing about the end of the world. Wikipedia calls this song an, "apocalyptic yet upbeat party anthem." Sounds like an oxymoron. Way back when Prince released this song in 1982, I was 1 years old, and the year 2000 loomed far ahead in the future, a mere dot on the horizon for the permed and hair-sprayed generation of the 80's. Well, 2000 came and 2000 went. I went to university, I traveled through my 20's, and before I knew it it was 2010 and I was wondering where the years had gone. I entered this very peculiar phase of not really being able to believe that it was the time the calendar said it was. And I realized, I'm surprised to still be here. I'm surprised that I haven't yet said, "Oops out of time". 2012 was for me what 1999 was for Prince in the 80's. Something so far away that it was incomprehensible that I'd actually really get there. . When I was in 6 I couldn't wait to be 7, when I was 7 I decided that I couldn't wait to be 10, then 13, then 16, then 18 so I could drive, and then the big one - 21. But after that. Nothing. No one has ever said they look forward to turning 28,29,30....

I didn't ever really think the world was going to end. I just never had pictured my life here, right now, on the 1st of January 2013. How true the Bible is when it tells us that without vision we perish. It's not the physical kind of dying. But it is a slow kind of deterioration of heart, mind and soul  when I stop heading towards something, aiming somewhere, and having a sense of expectation for the future. I have stopped becoming something, becoming someone, I can be proud of and be happy with. I have stopped learning and I have stopped seeking for meaning and new experiences. But I don't like resolutions and sitting down and writing down rigid goals so I have endeavored to do two things this coming year,

For the sake of my mind, I will learn new things and question old things.

For the sake of my heart, I will find ways to serve others in new ways.

It's simple enough to accomplish, but powerful enough to kick my inner world into a new gear. 

In "1999" Prince sings out, "But life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last." Definitely not my favourite metaphor for life but either way, this girl's party isn't over yet. I've still got time. And what I'm going to do with it is up to me. I'm planning on making a list of things to look forward to in the next few years. Vision! Vision! Vision! But that can wait for tomorrow; tonight I'm going to party like it's.... twenty-thirteen.