On the New Year

For me, the new year 2017 began with:

• Pain & illness
• Disappointment
• Loneliness
• A large To-Do List
• Fear of what is coming

And, yet, as the great poet Maya Angelou wrote,  “But Still I Rise.”

I am not done yet and all these can be changed by me to some degree.

I can and will:

• take better care of myself and deal with health issues more aggressively.
• adjust my goals and my behavior to achieve more.
• reach out and make new friends.
• do the things on my To-Do List.
• replace fear with hope as often as possible.

Even fear and hope are choices, at least some of the time. As much as I am opposed to the looming fascism and corruption of the incoming Congress and President, as much as we all have reasons to be deeply concerned about the direction the country is heading under their leadership, we all need to rest some and have hope for the days ahead or the fight against evil and bigotry will consume us before it begins. We all need to spend time with our families and friends, showing our real values by helping others, and celebrating what makes us happy and proud as often as we can.

The new year began with a fistful of yuck. It is up to each of us to make the rest of the year something we can remember with a smile.