A New Year, a New Chance

     I know that many of us like to start the year with fresh hopes for betterment of ourselves and of the world.  Along side that, I think we can all sense that winds of change are blowing away old ways of thinking and old ways of living.  I applaud the courage of every person who stands for change, whether within themselves, or as a member of a society that needs changing.

     But I would like to remind us all that change is far more than pushing away the stuff you don't like.  To do that only breeds resistance, and you know the old saying, "What you resist persists."  That's very true whether on the personal level or in societal structures.

     It's far better to go around that stuff and aim higher.  By that I mean that we need to acknowledge that wrongs, faults, and injustices exist but to hold as our goal the establishment of something better to replace it.  We need to have the courage and persistence to fight FOR what we want, not AGAINST what we don't want.

     So whether your issue for this year is person, say, weight loss or stopping smoking or gossiping, or whether it is societal or global, say, climate change, plastic pollution, economic inequality, overpopulation (why do so many people ignore this issue, which is at the root of so many other issues we face?), wars, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and so on, I strongly urge us all to imagine what its preferred opposite might be and to work for that.

     Up and at 'em.  Keep the faith.  Have courage.

(photo courtesy of Goran Horvat of pixabay.com)