#BTColumn – Old things bring new

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by Bishop André Symmonds

Who among us as Barbadians hasn’t proven this proverb true? With the unwrapping of gifts complete, most of us can bear witness to this.

Perhaps it was a stretched-out shirt, a torn trousers, or other well-worn wear that gave way to the arrival of something new. Whatever the obsolete object, it is comforting to know that old things often give way to new.

With an old year behind us and a new one before us, permit me this opportunity to wish Barbadians and visitors alike a safe, successful, meaningful, and memorable 2022. Not knowing what it holds, we can be confident in knowing who holds it, and by extension who holds us.

At the beginning of every year, people all over the world often muse on the moving message of the melodious “Auld Lang Syne”.

Perhaps, you can still hear its infectious refrain ringing in your heart. I’m told that the most plain English interpretation of the well-known title is, ‘Times long past’, or ‘For old time’s sake’.

The missive is introspective, affording listeners a context wherein a couple friends are reminiscing over a drink. Their friendship seems mature but has been occasionally distant, and they appear to be recounting adventures mutually enjoyed over a protracted period of time. Ironically, there’s no apparent reference to a new year.

The 1788 Scottish poet Robert Burns has been attributed the following: Verse 1: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?”

Chorus: “For auld lang syne, my jo, for auld lang syne, we’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”

With 2021 in our rearview and 2022 heralding things anew, there is relevance in these legendary lyrics to some of which I allude.

If we put the proverbial cup down for a moment, before this new year gets especially busy, as it now portends, it is apparent that there’s as much need to recollect as there is need to refocus.

Personally, I’m not an advocate for baseless resolutions as they often lead to pointless revolutions, like that of a spinning top in mud.

However, there is much to be said for learning from one’s past, as one makes strides into the future. For old time’s sake, we must train our former experiences to better prepare us for our new (future) ones.

Old things do bring new ones!

For old time’s sake, I pray that we don’t too quickly forget the lessons in empathy and brotherly kindness, as taught us by last April’s ash fall.

For old time’s sake, I hope that we’ve not ignored the consecutive summer months of admonitions, yielded by the gales of a freak storm and a hurricane.

For old time’s sake, I humbly submit that we do not overlook the great divide that our healthcare system has suffered, and that we as a nation have survived, by the grace of God.

I surmise that the toll of these, together with the several setbacks of 2021, may yet be ahead of us. There
are always going to be things from yesteryear that seep into our new year.

At the commencement of 2022, it is my earnest desire to see us redouble our efforts at maintaining a national posture of peace, an industrious identity, a reverence for righteousness, and an unmitigated ‘umph’ towards unity. This is my sincere plea, not only for old time’s sake, but for our nation’s future success.

While the paint on this new year is yet wet, and as we take that cup of kindness up, contemplating our next steps, not least of which will be the soon placement of our elective “X”, we reflect on the words of that compelling chorus again.

“Should old acquaintance be forgot”? I’d like to submit that it largely depends on who or what that consociate might be. If that relationship challenged you and I to be better citizens, to be more sensitive to each other’s needs, and to be more God-fearing than before, then by all means do not forget old acquaintances.

Take that cup of kindness yet, for old time’s sake. But, if otherwise, and the above does not hold true, then by all means forget those acquaintances!

If after personal introspection we’re not better countrymen, we’re hardly forgiving of one another, and we’re less God-fearing than ever, then we must consider the dissolution of those acquaintances as they will surely bring new ones, of the same kind. Cheers, to your New Year!

Bishop André Symmonds is Senior Pastor of Calvary Temple Community Church Barbados Suffragan Bishop at Bethel Life International Fellowship.