It’s 12 o’clock midnight January 1^st 2014. The ball has dropped and Ryan Seacrest is on your television in all of his sparkly metrosexual glory wishing you HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

You look to your lover and give them a kiss. You give tight hugs to friends wearing huge smiles, hi-five the kids who are happy to be awake for the grown folks’ party, call loved ones who live far away to tell them you love them and then you hear that New Year’s song being sung on the television.

And you start to sing it as well.

Yet, you have no idea what you’re singing. The song is only brought out once a year and who the hell knows the words or what the song entails?

Fear not, for I am here to assist you with your confusion.

The song is “Auld Lang Syne” and it has been around longer than anyone walking this earth has been alive. Dating back to 1788, “Auld Lang Syne” is a poem originally written by Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns. The words “Auld Lang Syne” literally translate to “old long since,” which could be better interpreted as “days of old” since the context of the song is sung moments after the old year is over and the new year begins.

It’s a song of remembering everything that brought you to the point you’re at in the beginning of the New Year by asking the question “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?”

That’s some really deep shit if you think about it.

How many people have you met this year that you wish you never had? How many times have you set a specific goal for yourself but you never got around to it? Or better yet, how many of the resolutions from last year did you keep?

Unbeknownst to all of us we have been singing a song that truly encapsulates what a new year is without even knowing it. Granted, most people are pretty drunk by midnight and others just mumble through the song (which actually has nine more verses that never get sung) but it’s so accurate.

Within the first few moments of the new year, you, along with the people you love the most, are basically singing a song that is stating “Fuck last year! That was yesterday, this is a new time.”

“Auld Lang Syne” is a call to action for you to either forget the past or carry it with you into the future. It’s a hymn of transition from one moment in your life to the next.

Think of all the time you’ve wasted avoiding a problem that needs to be addressed. Think of the amount of stress you placed on yourself during the year in relation to jobs, bills and people. More importantly, think of the people you’ve lost in 2013 who won’t be able to join you in dismissing the troubles of yesterday and think about what they would tell you if you’re still holding on to people and situations that no longer mean anything.

You don’t have to wait until January 1st to start the process towards true change in your life because every day you wake up can be the opportunity for change. But, once we cross over into 2014, and that “Auld Lang Syne” drops, it’s time to seriously consider if you’re going to step forward into a new day or allow the days of old to run your life for another year.