Hold on, Happy New Year

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“As long as the world is turning and spinning, we’re gonna be dizzy and we’re gonna make mistakes.” – Mel Brooks

Hold On. Happy New Year.

The world keeps turning. Some of us smile; some of us suffer as we ride its spin.

I live with confusion and fear, yet I am warm and well fed.

I know I will never understand it all. Perhaps my lack of understanding is tied to a lack of true sympathy. And still, I want to move closer—to know your distress more honestly.

I do not wear a grin, but I am deeply grateful that I am not the one in pain.

I wish there were better ways to reach you, wherever you are, in whatever you are carrying. You are in my thoughts, though my actions fall short.

The quiet of this house—its calm, its shelter— sometimes makes it hard to remember the weight of your troubles.

Still, I will keep you in mind.

If only I believed that those in power—the leaders, the administrators, the mighty— were searching for a way into your hearts.

If only I believed they could lead us toward inclusion and relationship.

If only I believed that connection might widen—to you, and to the earth we share.

But they are not seeking you.

They frighten me. He terrifies me.

Is he truly careless, truly unaware? How can that be? And those who chose him—were they unaware too?

My oldest daughter says concern grows where there is something at stake. Perhaps hardship feels distant when you own little—or nothing at all. I struggle with this, with my own limits of sympathy.

Because I cannot see their motives or desires clearly, I cannot fully judge those who supported him. Their lives may be mapped in places I have never walked.

What I see as a bewildering decision made by many in November is something I may never fully understand. It remains a piece of the whole that escapes me.

And yet—it is a new year.

I wish for a year in which the world turns in your favor. I hope change is shaped by those who understand more deeply than I do.

I hope wisdom prevails. I hope good judgment endures.

As the earth spins on, we must hold on to one another and cherish the goodness of the planet entrusted to us.

Forgive me for sounding directive— I am simply scared stiff.

Please, hold on.

I wish a Happy New Year to each and every one of them— and most especially, to you.