wishful thinking 2023

 

Why, of course. Help yourself.

Tomorrow is New Year's Day. I'm fairly confident the sun will rise in the East as usual, and it will set in the West, as expected. My house is quiet. The woods out back are still. Except for the year on the calendar, I don't expect much to change overnight.

"Bad news: a lot can change in a year.

Good news: a lot can change in a year."

~various attributions~

So, why do we gather with family and friends to raise our glasses at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve?

Simply put, it is a celebration of wishful thinking. It is proof that we believe...or hope...that the new year holds limitless possibility for us...the possibility that good will come to us, that our burdens will be lifted, that help is available. It enables us to envision a world at peace, to imagine an end to poverty and hunger, to hope for an elusive cure, to pray for an end to suffering. 

Wishful thinking is an act of the imagination, the acknowledgement of fantasy, of faith, of hope. It is a meditation on possibility, the defeat of despair, the embodiment of optimism. It is childlike, playful, and enduring. It is the gateway to creativity, to our vision, to the soul.

"Imagination is more important

than knowledge."

~Albert Einstein~

So, instead of making New Year's resolutions this year, why not try wishful thinking? It has a more optimistic ring to it than making resolutions that require self-discipline and grim determination. For example, I could promise to journal first thing every morning this year...but what if I have to wander outside because the sunrise is too heart-achingly beautiful to miss? What then? I could resolve to write one thousand words every day...but what if it snows? If I don't get out there, who will build a snowman in my yard?

Resolutions are often doomed to fail. Optimism, on the other hand, is an empowering force, and hope is a saving grace. There is no limit to what you can wish for. There is no end to what you can do. There is no limit to who you can be.

This is my New Year's wish for you:

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you dwell in peace and loving kindness.

~loving kindness (metta) meditation~

What are you thinking wishfully about for 2023?

jan