With a full heart, I share:
“Celebration – A New Year”
YEAR-END SIMMERING
and
OPENING TO THE NEW YEAR
Welcome to the last weekend of the Holiday Season
But before I dive into the new year, I want to mention two events – one solar and one Christian – that closed out what we now consider a year-end.
The Solstice
December 21st marked the Solstice, when the earth shifts it orientation, guaranteeing the long nights and dark days will reverse course. This is the actual end of the year.
The days WILL get longer and the sun WILL shine again.
I’m told I can count on it.
But if Spring is the time of rebirth and new life, why do we celebrate a new year in the middle of depressing weather?
I decided to look into it and found that in the first Roman Calendar the next 61 days of winter weren’t even recognized. The new year then began on the Spring Equinox, March 21st, which shows my logic wasn’t far-fetched...
After king Numa Pompilius (715-673BCE) came to power, he added January and February into the calendar. But for 600 years everyone ignored the change!
One historian commented that “the calendar was an unreliable mess,” but as I read further Caesar decided to fix it – and Jan 1 became the first day of the new year.
And thus, here we are. And if you ask me, the world is an unreliable mess.
Advent: Jesus being the reason for the season
Advent began on the 4th Sun before Xmas and ended Xmas Eve. It is a period of prayer and expectation for Christians… and an opportunity to reflect on God’s love for sending Jesus and preparing for his future return.
It is also referred to as a time of hope.
Taking the word “hope” out of the religious and into the secular, Chad Hellman, director of the Hope Research Center of U of Oklahoma expands the concept. He says research has found hope to be one of the strongest predictors of overall well-being. According to Hellman it improves our immune system, aids in recovery of illness and drives transformation.
I was surprised.
Frankly, one only has to read or watch 10 minutes of current news to think maybe having hope is naïve.
Hopefully not.
Cynicism is rampant
Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki suggests Americans replace cynicism with skepticism. He says that because cynics never trust, they never lose. But they also never win because they shut down early.
Zaki encourages us to replace cynicism with “hopeful skepticism” (there’s that word “hope” again).
He argues that hope is not naïve. And while it can idealistic if unchecked, it “is what galvanizes people toward change and action – and aligns with the scientific method of being both critical and curious.”
Actually, I can see how that could work.
We’ll see.
THE NEW YEAR
Although making New Year’s Resolutions is common, it just not my shtick. But I think I’ve found an alternative.
Psychologist Armanta Imber suggests we create a monthly list of things not to do. What a splendid idea. Be it resolved that I won’t continue to do “such-and such” when I’m tired of doing it. Or when I know I won’t succeed.
The WSJ added to my new program by suggesting I adopt “critical ignoring.” Although the article’s focus was on the news, I love the term. It reminds me that what I ignore can be as important as what I absorb.
My new shtick…
After some “pondering” I’ve decided to focus on 2026 routines instead of resolutions.
Routines are more comforting and flexible and less about muscle and willpower. They don’t demand I become a better person and – as a bonus – they can become habits without effort (and WE LOVE HABITS).
Typically, I start my day with the routine of making the bed, preparing green tea, brushing my teeth and returning to bed to read.
I recently found a beautiful leather bound journal while deep cleaning (which is one of my already-established January routines). I placed it on my night stand with the idea I might use it in the morning. My routine would only ask that I look at it each morning coupled with one of my not to’s – I will not become impatient with myself if I don’t.
No pressure… just a morning nudge to be the person I might enjoy being.
We’ll see.
I also read about someone who reads for a few hours every day and sketches one picture from the news they read. I like the idea.
We’ll see
THANK YOU: I want to thank all of you for being a reader of BB&TT. Some of you were readers of TakingGrief.com and TalkingBittersweet.com and comment directly to my Gmail account. I welcome any and all as we step into 2026 and I share how my art and world come together.
AI didn’t write this post.