It’s always with great apprehension that I look to the new year. What will the headlines be? How many lives will be devastated by natural disasters? Who will enter my life, and who will leave it? Read more…

Although I don’t think it does any good to be Pollyannaish ostriches insisting that to ignore the negative makes everything A-OK, it’s important, especially in difficult times, to remain as positive as one can. I am a firm believer in the old adage attitude is everything.  

Drink more water. Join a gym. Quit smoking.  

No, I’m not suggesting writing a list of New Year’s Resolutions.  Everyone knows how long those tend to last. In fact, nothing in this essay will strike the reader as a mind-blowing revelation. I’m merely reminding the reader that of the few things in life we have control over, our own personal attitudes are at the top of the list. 

To be honest, I have difficulty maintaining a positive attitude.  I instantly erect walls and withdraw around certain people I’m made to spend time with. Past hurts have calcified from resent-fueled grudges to calcified indifference. Avoidance has been my tool of choice in dealing with such people, unfortunately hurting others in the process. 

I can hear the reader now; “Be the bigger person and let it go!” But a dark and hollow corner of my soul clings to this apathy like a barnacle in a rock pool. I wish I could move past it and so, in 2023, I hope to work on healing this rift, correcting this personal flaw so that by the end of 2023 I can be around those who provoke (or have, in the past, provoked) such negative feelings.

As we dive into 2023, I wish everyone a safe and happy year, and, despite whatever the next twelve months brings, may you meet it with a level head and a heart filled with gratitude and courage.