And here we are, at the dawn of a new year, a time to put 2023 behind while we look forward to the joys and challenges of the coming 366 days (remember, this is a leap year).

There is excitement in the air as we wonder what will come after the symbolic reset we experience each time we start the new year.

2023 was a challenging year for many — inflation, wars, uncertainty in a changing environment that saw the true emergence of artificial intelligence in our lives. Others experienced a year of plenty for themselves and their families. All of us are hoping for that happy and prosperous New Year of song.

But for what else do we hope now that the calendar has turned to another year?

How wonderful if, with this fresh start, humans did a better job of treating each other with compassion and empathy; if we followed the Golden Rule.

How much better off we might be if politicians and the bureaucracy remembered they serve us, rather than themselves.

Oh, the possibilities if children are encouraged to learn, explore, read, ask questions and think for themselves.

(For that matter, if all of us adults also remembered to learn, explore, read, ask questions and think …)

If more of us had the time and resources to eat healthier and exercise more; if more of us could offer a hand to those among us who are struggling; if more of us were able to do better for the planet … (singing now) what a wonderful world it would be.

It’s a long list, isn’t it?

Sometimes we can set ourselves up to be overwhelmed by what we expected not just of the New Year, but of ourselves and one another.

Perhaps this year we should try a more manageable approach. Perhaps we should simply resolve to be better — even if only a little bit.

If we can do that, one small step at a time, perhaps the big stuff will begin to take care of itself.

Let’s skip the all-or-nothing approach this year, then, and just do what we can, to whatever degree we can — and resolve that we won’t give up completely if we slip.

After all, the world will surely not stop throwing us curveballs even if the calendar has a new number at the top.

Be smart and responsible as you celebrate, folks.

And may we, all, have a happy New Year!

***

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.'”

— Alfred Lord Tennyson

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

— Albert Einstein

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”

— Benjamin Franklin