A quick note as we begin a new year.
I’ve been laboring under a cloud these past many weeks. I’m sure the winter season has something to do with it, after all one of the reasons we moved from New England was the creeping dread of a cold landscape devoid of life, magnified by constantly cloud-filled winter skies. At least Virginia winters are sunny. Co-workers I’d rather see permanently receding in my rear-view mirror, constant political-born hatred and sad news of people losing their homes, jobs and loved ones have taken their toll on my psyche this past year.
At the same time, though, I’ve seen glimmers of hope. Our small business just completed its best year ever. Election season ended with an unambiguous result. The US economy continued slowly, steadily chugging along. Unemployment (very) gradually declined. There was ample evidence of the goodness and kindness of ordinary people on display across the country, in the wake of that massacre in Connecticut. And creative, intelligent, learned people continued working on difficult problems in every endeavor despite the hard-of-thinking crowd’s easy and, often, self-serving answers that rarely solve problems.
2013 is about optimism. It’s about hope for better days, which are increasingly coming our way. It’s about putting the petty bullshit behind us and focusing on the work at hand. It’s about finding one good thing to be pleased and thankful about every day.
Put enough of those days together and life doesn’t look so depressing anymore. It’s not, really. It’s just easy to lose sight of that.
Here’s hoping your 2013 is as terrific as mine!
A Random Stroll 