Clean Slate – #NewYears #Choice #Opportunity

Image by Sanna from Pixabay

Welcome to the new year!

Some people think that this is just another day. In some ways, they’re right. January first has no intrinsic significance. Calendars are just another manifestation of the human tendency to complicate everything.

It’s 2025 rather than 2024, but has anything changed? The same wars are being fought around the globe. People who went hungry yesterday are probably hungry today. The same scandals, memes and fads are lighting up the Internet. Economic uncertainty, international conflicts, political infighting, bird flu, drug overdoses, censorship... none of it has gone away.

At the same time, the first day of the new year is hugely symbolic. The world might be a mess, but individually we can make a fresh start. Today we have a clean slate, a chance to do things differently. A chance to take our goals more seriously and fulfill our commitments; to trade productivity for procrastination; to take better care of our own minds and bodies; to be kinder and to laugh more often.

We can’t control the world, but we have at least some power over our own lives. The one supreme power that no one can take from us is our ability to choose how we respond to challenges. I know it might sound ridiculously naïve, but in my quite long life I’ve seen the truth of this again and again. Our dreams, beliefs and values shape our experience of this world. Even in the face of pain or disappointment, we can grow, prosper and know joy. And even if we’ve failed in the past, today is a new day.

I’ve spent the last week knocking tasks off my to-do list that have been there for months: cleaning, sorting, getting rid of things I don’t need. I’ve added more than 10,000 words to my current WIP. I’ve reached out to friends and loved ones near and far away, recognizing the importance of those connections.

I could have done these things any day, but like many people, I was inspired by the turning of the year. I want to start 2025 with the intention of being better than I was in 2024. I don’t believe in making specific New Year’s resolutions; they’re just an invitation to guilt. All I know is that today I’m looking for opportunities to grow, to learn, to shine.

I’m sure to lose some of my energy and motivation as the year unfolds and difficulties appear. When I do, I’ll try to remember today, when I knew with utter certainty that I’d make 2025 the best year ever.