A New Year, A Fresh Start

Gosling Rescue; Photo by Tamar Griggs

It’s odd, isn’t it, that when one year ends and another begins we feel this is a chance to do better. We take stock of our lives and with great anticipation, we turn the pages of a blank calendar. This brings me joy: What will the new year bring? What’s around the corner?

Many of us feel that January 1 is a chance to begin again, to make promises to ourselves and to the earth.  To a dog, it is just another day.

I like to ask myself a few questions each January.  What went well last year? What am I proud of? In what areas can I improve? Traditionally I journal my reflections. Already, this new year, I see that I am overwhelmed with gratitude and feel pride at what unfolded last year in my life.

Primary 2023 successes were the completion of my memoir, completion of a tiny, remote off the grid cabin, the acceptance of my family history into the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library, and surviving and thriving through a serious injury.

Dr. Jean Houston, a philosopher born in 1937, is a visionary thinker and author who coaches people to live to their highest potential. She wrote a beautiful New Year’s letter encouraging us to concentrate on one word this coming year – kindness. That word resonated with me as a guiding intention for my year ahead.

What word would you choose for 2024?

Blessings, and happy travelling wherever you are in your journey.

Tamar