Amazing how similar this word is in different languages!

As a passionate language lover, I always want to find out about the origin of a word.

Did you know that the word calendar comes from the Latin word Calendarium (debt register) which was a list of the calandae, the days of the ancient months to be proclaimed (calare)? On these days, loans were paid out and loan repayments and interest receivables were due.

Calendars or diaries have always fascinated me and I confess I have more than one and I always keep one from the old year (the year before) – to compare, look back, gain some insights and understand why things happened.

The new calendar:
• – Empty pages – not knowing how the days, weeks, months and year are going to develop – 365 days’ space to be filled with whatever you can imagine – there are no limits – you are the creator of your time.
• – Empty pages – clean, white, ready to come to life through you, smells so fresh, fresh from the printer, waiting to be filled with content.

My calendars need colour to come to life and a little bit more….

I always start by writing down the birthdays of my loved ones and friends, anniversaries etc. and already at this point – comparing to the old calendar you start to think – are these the same birthdays? Do I have to add new ones – because you have found new friends? Do I have to delete one – because your relationship is not the same as it used to be a year ago? It’s your decision – keep or let go in peace.

This is a good time to reflect and this can cause both happiness and sadness – but it will give you clarity.
Sometimes I add quotes in my calendar – there is always some space to do so. Or I set myself a monthly task like for example: January 20… – clean up one drawer per week – and God knows I have a lot of drawers – so maybe this little task, once achieved, motivates me to continue.

The old calendar:
• – Feels heavier than the new one, has the smell of a year’s work which is wonderful – I love it.
• – Filled with stories and maybe also with a lot of little papers, little mind helpers that are with you throughout the year.
• – Filled with content, with your achievements. Be proud and grateful for everything. There may be also sad moments or moments where you only had questions and no answers – accept and forgive. You can never anticipate what the future will hold for you personally.

But you can decide what is your mindset regarding the future.

With the new calendar we also get autonomy and freedom to create our own content for the coming year.
I celebrate that every year. By doing that, I can let go of the past and embrace what is coming. However, we should also try to live in the now.

And if I may, I would like to finish with a quote from one of my favourite German authors Rainer Maria Rilke. I would like to quote it in German because the wording is unique and has so much power. I will then try to give you a translation into English:

„Und ich möchte Sie, so gut ich es kann, bitten, Geduld zu haben, gegen alles Ungelöste in Ihrem Herzen und zu versuchen, die Fragen selbst lieb zu haben wie verschlossene Stuben und wie Bücher, die in einer sehr fremden Sprache geschrieben sind. Forschen Sie jetzt nicht nach den Antworten, die Ihnen nicht gegeben werden können, weil Sie sie nicht leben könnten. Und es handelt sich darum, alles zu leben. Leben Sie jetzt die Fragen. Vielleicht leben Sie dann allmählich, ohne es zu merken, eines fernen Tages in die Antwort hinein.“

Rainer Maria Rilke, 16. Juli 1903 – Briefe an einen jungen Dichter

“And I would ask you, as best as I can, to be patient, with the uncertainty in your heart, and to try to love the unanswered questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Do not, at this point, search for the answers that cannot be given to you because you could not live them. And it is about living everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.“

Rainer Maria Rilke, July 16, 1903 – Letters to a young poet