What’s the point of New Year anyway. Next new day felt like the day before. Celebration? A break can help to adjust goals and leave sorrows, sadness and pain behind and restart with a smile. Yet pardon my French, I reckon many are forced into these behavioral patterns, such as having to celebrate Christmas and then New Year, as if you’re a lousy mortal if you don’t spend and drink and laugh to a degree that borders on downright irresponsibility. The world would collapse if we’d live all year round like on year’s end. Don’t get me wrong. Nothing against beautiful rituals and getting together to celebrate family, friends and enhance the common good. But to be honest, in these increasingly atheist times when religion increasingly becomes a synonym for terror and violence, it is more important than ever to not become victims of imposed commercial and marketing forces — and to remember and live the true and original spirit of these precious days.

Christmas might have been fantastic for you because you got more shiny new gear, or spoiled yourself with that photography gadget researched for days and weeks on the Internet while ignoring all the shelved gear gathered dust. In fact, why not make every day of the year a Christmas Day and a New Year’s Day. Why not celebrate each and every day of the year as one of those special days we have to wait for a whole year. Why not?! Because we’re trapped; trapped in functional patterns, under the illusion of having free will and self control, when in fact we’re mostly pushed rather mechanically from mental and physical bondages to the next, and so forth.

Breaking out from these patterns is the real bliss. Making every day a truly conscious and enjoyed day, without postponing what matters. Really matters.

Each day is a beautiful, magic day. Not just Christmas. Not just New Year’s Eve, which you might have forgotten already because you were so wasted.

To make most of every day, here are some simple truths; simple in the way they’re easy to read and understand, but not that easy to live.

Sounds all easy, and maybe it is easy once it dawns on us.

You seriously have no idea what people are dealing with in their personal life, so just be nice, it’s that simple.

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

Silence the angry with love. Silence the ill-natured with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity.

It could be that simple. Things are given, not taken.

Have a happy, healthy and peaceful year everyone, and joyous shooting!

Because in the end, what else really matters?