New Year. New Start.

It was a very mellow New Year’s Eve at our house. For that reason, I watched more coverage than usual of countries ringing in the new year. From Australia to Time Square, people were doing the same thing: wearing strange hats, cheering in the streets, and toasting a the start of 2023. 

What a strange holiday New Year’s Day is when you think about it. We celebrate an arbitrary date that signifies the beginning of a new year. Why do we need to have a new year? Who came up with the concept that after twelve months it is time for a do over? Why can’t we just keep on keeping on? The funny thing about the new year is how the human spirit buys into it.  Hope springs eternal. I don’t care what religion you are or aren’t or how negative of a person you are there is still a tiny piece of everyone who thinks about the coming year with anticipation. We think this will be the year when we lose that extra 30 pounds, meet prince charming, win the lottery, get the big promotion, or suddenly have well-mannered children.  Why is that? 

We all need hope; it is part of the human spirit. We need to believe that good things will happen no matter what reality tells us. The truth is that there are people who are starting this year hoping for the best of times who in reality will be facing their worst year ever. There are people making resolutions to do better who won’t make it to the end of the new year. Those are facts and reality, but on New Year’s Day we suspend reality. 

I May Be a Dreamer

It shows that we all have hope for a better life, a better future, a better world. The problem comes in the semantics of what we think a better world looks like. Here is my vision of what I think a better world would look like:

• That all children would feel loved, protected, and cherished in their families.
• That we teach our children to be brave and kind in the world.
• That we would extend grace to all people.
• That when a person is in need someone would help, no questions asked.
• That more people would swallow their pride and ask for help before their situations were desperate.
• That people would realize that, for the most part, everyone loves their parents, their town, and their children just like you. They may not see things the way you do but they value the same things. 
• That everyone when faced with the decision between adventure and comfort would choose adventure.
• That everyone everywhere would have their own bed and clean sheets. There is nothing like climbing into a clean bed after a long day.

This is my short list of what I think could make the world a better place. I would love to hear some of your ideas. That is the view from where I sit this first week of 2023.