Hope for the New Year
A new year is touted as a time for looking back at the lessons of the previous year, the situations our world and our communities are facing, as well as our own individual challenges. It’s an ideal time to commit to new ways of living in the world. Most years I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do renew my personal commitment to look for sources of hope and motivation in the words and deeds of those around me. It’s an opportunity to develop a new clarity of vision for this New Year.
My Pride and Joy!
At the dawn of 2023, I think about how to dwell on the things that bring me hope so I can save my energies for working on the things I need and want to change. Some of those hopeful things, like the encouragement I feel when my young granddaughter stays focused on her work to become a prima ballerina in a world that doesn’t appreciate brown curvy bodies, are easy for me to discover. Others I find buried in the news and in other people’s optimistic attitudes.
Here I am with my beloved Noe Leilani after her performance as Clara in Orlando Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker the day after my 70th birthday. A memory to brighten the darkest day!!!
Helaine Olen, for example, quoted in the opinion column of The Washington Post “15 reasons you should be hopeful for 2023,” insists that “Humans are social creatures …So it’s the resilience of the human spirit to connect that gives me hope for 2023. We are not as divided and alone as it can sometimes appear.” So here I am today, doing my due diligence to connect with like-minded people, and then working on it some more tomorrow and next month and all year long. My hope for connection is rekindled by her words.
I am eager to discover hope in scientific advancements. Gary Abernathy is also quoted in TWP as saying: “According to reports, science seems on the threshold of unlocking the mysteries that could lead to cures or game-changing treatments for diabetes, Parkinson’s, HIV, many types of cancers and heart conditions, and more. When it comes to modern medicine, there’s reason to hope that 2023 will be the Year of Miracles.” I crave for these advancements to include a cure for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), “a chronic liver disease in which the bile ducts inside and outside the liver become inflamed and scarred, and eventually narrowed or blocked.”[i] It is threatening the life of my beloved daughter-in-law who will soon need a second organ transplant. My heart soars with excitement when I envision a future of health and delight for this remarkable human being and others like her.
I also strive to concentrate on E.J. Dionne Jr.’s vision of young people fighting for a better world: “My hopes for 2023 are driven by the next generation and by the many signs that democracy is stronger globally than it was even a year ago. Thanks to my teaching and my own children, I encounter many who are younger than 35. Their commitment to social justice, personal freedom and political reform is inspiring — and their role in our public life will only grow. In the competition between authoritarian and democratic forces, the small-d democrats showed their vitality around the world, most dramatically in Ukraine. So let’s join in cheering democratization powered by the energy of the young.” My children and grandchildren are a source of optimism and inspiration for me. The brave young women of Iran and the courageous people of Ukraine, as well as those fighting for racial and social justice, gender equity, support for LGBTQ+ people, and the defense of the fragile United States democracy, are showing us through their actions that they will not rest against the forces of greed, abusive power, and corruption. A hopeful sight indeed!
Then I face the dreaded snake inside me that belittles my own existence. Whenever I’m tempted to dwell on my own shortcomings, I listen to Mary Pickford who said: “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” I may need to reach out to a friend, a stranger, or my dog in order to pull out of my despondent rut, but when I get back on my feet I can celebrate my ability to change my course and build a new life at any point in the day or the year. The important thing is to remember that I have a choice. That I matter. That my worth and strength are incalculable. This also applies to you, my friend!
Another bright object on the horizon to focus on is well described by Megan McArdle: “People seem to have gotten bored with the pathological rage-seeking and virtue-signaling behavior that has characterized so much of the internet for the past five or 10 years — particularly for media and academia. The bullying disguised as piety, the compulsive need to find offense where none was intended, and the deliberate provocations intended to work the other side up into a frenzy are not what the cool people are doing anymore, thank heavens. It was always fatiguing, and now, apparently, the excitement has been exhausted. So my great hope for 2023 is that perhaps, instead of looking for reasons to hate each other, we might start rediscovering our common humanity.”
So let’s center our focus on loving and advocating for each other and on the idea of happiness Jane Kenyon describes in her poem.
Happiness
There's just no accounting for happiness,
or the way it turns up like a prodigal
who comes back to the dust at your feet
having squandered a fortune far away.
Joy and misery, hope and despair chase each other’s tails all year long. We only need to be patient, steadfast, curious, and brave to find the happiness and potential the new year brings when we least expect it. Happy 2023 to you and your loved ones!
[i] National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease/primary-sclerosing-cholangitis
