Around Again
Keeping My Heart Open This Year
As we race into 2024 (looking over our shoulders to make sure 2023 isn’t following us), I’ve been thinking of hopeful things to share with you in this edition of the newsletter.
OP-ED: This Was a Terrible Year, and Maybe the Best One Ever for Humanity
Nick Kristof, one of my favorite journalists, wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times this week offering the (rather controversial) opinion that the past year was, in some ways, the best ever. Say what? Mind you, Nick’s been a war correspondent who has seen some of the very worst we can do to each other, a clear-eyed reporter who understands the terrible tolls of climate change. Yet (and he writes a variation of this every year) Kristof urges us to keep our eyes open to see the good that is happening, and our hearts open to keep those good things going. This year, he points to strides made in disease eradication, in declines in world poverty and child mortality. He says, “If we want to tackle problems — from the war in Gaza to climate change — then it helps to know that progress is possible.” Amen.
HUMOR: Another way to review 2023, by Dave Barry
Here’s a lighter-hearted way to process the year just past: Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry’s Year in Review. Barry writes these annually, and I always look forward to them. Take a spin down memory lane with Dave and recall the highlights, including this, from February: In sports, LeBron James sets a new NBA record for points scored, breaking the record previously set by U.S. Rep. George Santos. And in November: the Rolling Stones announce plans for a new tour, to be sponsored — really — by AARP (Official Motto: “AARP! It’s the Last Sound You Make Before You Die”).
VIDEO: “GIFT”
I think this short video is really well done, especially the complicated character of the dad. A reminder that we are ALL complicated beings, capable of inflicting hurt, but also of bringing great joy…
ESSAY: It’s Good to Remember: We Are All on Borrowed Time Wise words from a favorite essayist, Anne Lamott…”Getting older is almost like changing species, from cute middle-aged, white-tailed deer, to yak.” Yup, feeling a little “yakky” these days…
MUSIC: “Coming Around Again” by Carly Simon
A beautiful Simon song about the enduring power of love over the years, through ups, downs, broken toasters and broken hearts…
BLOG PREVIEW: POP GOES THE TART
Note: tomorrow’s Working Title post may or may not have been inspired by last week’s Pop Tart Bowl…
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Wishing you hope, and optimism, and joy this week, my friends. May you look back with laughter and look forward with excitement. Together, we can make it a magical year.