Auld Lang Syne: Not Just For New Year’s Eve

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Auld Lang Syne: Not Just For New Year’s Eve

With the beginning of a new year, we often pause to reflect on the past year.

What was, what could have been, but wasn’t.

Origin and Meaning of Auld Lang Syne

There is a sweetness in reflection. 

On New Year’s Eve we sing Auld Lang Syne, words penned by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

It’s a song that makes you feel nostalgic even though you might not know why. 

Some people call it the most famous song that nobody knows for this reason.

The words actually mean for the sake of old times or literally, “old long since”.

Dan Fogelberg’s Take on Auld Lang Syne

Dan Fogelberg sang about this in his tune often played at the holidays, “Same Old Lang Syne.”

He perfectly captures the moment he ran into an old girlfriend at a convenience store on Christmas Eve. 

Surprised to see each other, they spend two hours catching up while sitting in her car. 

He sings, “We drank a toast to innocence. We drank a toast to time. Reliving in our eloquence another ‘auld lang syne’”. 

It’s a bittersweet take on a relationship that once was and is no more.

An anonymous author said this, “If you have one eye on yesterday, and one eye on tomorrow, you’re going to be cock-eyed today.”

While it’s nice to reminisce and connect with warm memories, and it’s important to set goals for the future as we so often do at the start of the New Year, living in the present is the only way to make a healthy connection between the two.

Connect Past and Present with Time At The Table

But how? 

Given the pace of life today it seems we’re always in motion. Traveling from somewhere to someplace new.

Here’s the recipe.

Spend consistent, quality time at the dining table on most evenings.

This is the most satisfying and delicious way to live in the present. 

It’s here that we connect with those most dear, cherish the memories of those who’ve gone before us, and look expectantly towards what awaits us in the future. 

In this new year, take the “What’s for dinner” pledge and vow to cherish time each evening over a home-cooked meal with family and friends.

This investment of time is the stuff of which memories are made and where we fuel ourselves for future adventures.