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| New Year's Eve in Mt. Dora, FL © Lloyd Lemons |
I think it’s safe to say, we all want to make 2025 better than 2024.
I want to recover my mindset and energy from where they were at the end of 2019, pick myself up, dust myself off, and move forward with renewed hope. I wrote that sentence at the end of 2023, and (surprise!) my “want” didn’t happen. I’m repeating it this year but not as a resolution—as something more powerful—a fresh way to face the world.
Our way of life is excessively angst-inducing. It completely went off the rails with COVID-19 and continues today with enormous political uncertainty, domestic and international terrorism, and religious wars around the globe.
Can we ever stop fretting over this insanity? How can we clear our heads, restore our hope, and enjoy renewed peace of mind?
I'm no longer one to create a list of New Year's resolutions. I don’t think making a list of promises to myself that begin on January 1st is the answer. A resolution may help my sleep cycle or improve my diet, but it won’t change my attitude toward the world and relieve stress. Personal growth and change don’t happen with New Year’s resolutions, they happen with introspection, and setting ongoing intentions.
For those of us who resist making New Year’s resolutions, you must admit, that something about January 1 still excites us about the potential of the next 12 months. Maybe we’re jazzed by the swell of glee from the revelers who enjoy the circus-like atmosphere surrounding New Year’s Eve.
The beginning of the new year serves to wake us from our asleep-at-the-wheel mentality. It reminds us that life is finite and to live intentionally we need to enjoy peace of mind. So just maybe it’s time to take stock of what we’ve accomplished and look forward to how we can continue to grow and become better humans. It feels like a good time to hit the reset button on our lives and work towards less worry and more self-discovery.
Make a bubble
One of the best ways to start a more contented life is to remove yourself from the worldly bubble of hatred, heartache, lies, and angst. Stop traveling down that well-worn road of despair. Take the road less traveled, gather your family and friends, and create your own bubble of comfort to live in. Add things to your bubble that make you happy and feel right.
Change your point of view. Do what makes you and your family safe and happy. Keep your distance from the noise and danger around you. Put silent space between you and those you know are political mongers. Socialize with people whose kindness, intelligence, and friendship you appreciate. Rid yourself of those who foster divisiveness and anxiety. Read, listen, or watch programming that helps you grow and makes you think.
These suggestions may not be the advice you’d hear from New Year’s revelers but think of it as a sensible approach to maintaining your sanity, relieving stress, frustration, and that tenacious smoldering angst.
Marcel Proust once wrote something that may help you restore your mindset and energy.
Our way of life is excessively angst-inducing. It completely went off the rails with COVID-19 and continues today with enormous political uncertainty, domestic and international terrorism, and religious wars around the globe.
Can we ever stop fretting over this insanity? How can we clear our heads, restore our hope, and enjoy renewed peace of mind?
I'm no longer one to create a list of New Year's resolutions. I don’t think making a list of promises to myself that begin on January 1st is the answer. A resolution may help my sleep cycle or improve my diet, but it won’t change my attitude toward the world and relieve stress. Personal growth and change don’t happen with New Year’s resolutions, they happen with introspection, and setting ongoing intentions.
For those of us who resist making New Year’s resolutions, you must admit, that something about January 1 still excites us about the potential of the next 12 months. Maybe we’re jazzed by the swell of glee from the revelers who enjoy the circus-like atmosphere surrounding New Year’s Eve.
The beginning of the new year serves to wake us from our asleep-at-the-wheel mentality. It reminds us that life is finite and to live intentionally we need to enjoy peace of mind. So just maybe it’s time to take stock of what we’ve accomplished and look forward to how we can continue to grow and become better humans. It feels like a good time to hit the reset button on our lives and work towards less worry and more self-discovery.
Make a bubble
One of the best ways to start a more contented life is to remove yourself from the worldly bubble of hatred, heartache, lies, and angst. Stop traveling down that well-worn road of despair. Take the road less traveled, gather your family and friends, and create your own bubble of comfort to live in. Add things to your bubble that make you happy and feel right.
Change your point of view. Do what makes you and your family safe and happy. Keep your distance from the noise and danger around you. Put silent space between you and those you know are political mongers. Socialize with people whose kindness, intelligence, and friendship you appreciate. Rid yourself of those who foster divisiveness and anxiety. Read, listen, or watch programming that helps you grow and makes you think.
These suggestions may not be the advice you’d hear from New Year’s revelers but think of it as a sensible approach to maintaining your sanity, relieving stress, frustration, and that tenacious smoldering angst.
Marcel Proust once wrote something that may help you restore your mindset and energy.
The creation of the world did not occur at the beginning of time; it occurs every day.
Each day you have a new opportunity to live it well.
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