The year 2016 is coming to a close.
Countless posts on social media have revealed that many plan on “flipping the bird” to the outgoing year at 11:59 PM on December 31st. Why you might ask?
Because they feel it was a year of disappointment, hate, violence and despair. It was a year when American’s lost all hope.
Sorry to rain on your pity parade, but the only way hope can ever be abolished from our lives is if you allow yourself to kill it.
Hope is something that lives in all of us and should never be so easily cast aside like many Americans have done. Marianne Williamson once said, “We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what’s wrong in our life, or we can focus on what’s right.”
A focus on what’s right
Sorry folks, I’m choosing to focus on what’s right.
Re-read your high school history books and you’ll discover that our country – our world – has experienced greater hardships and struggles than our modern-day society could ever comprehend.
So while you’re busy giving the year 2016 the middle finger, it’s important to remember that “Faith can give us the courage to face the uncertainties of the future.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Powerful words which have echoed through generation after generation – adversity after adversity.
As we proclaim the year 2016 an abomination, a year when things didn’t go as expected, remember “If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world doesn’t fall apart.” – Oprah Winfrey. And neither will America.
Hermann Hesse once remarked, “Some of us think holding on makes us strong – but sometimes it is letting go.”
Our resentment towards the year 2016 propagates negativity, breeds continual prejudices, weakens our character and ignores “what’s right” in our lives. Is that how you want to enter 2017?
I’m sorry, but I will wish the year 2016 a fond farewell. Why you might ask?
My family is healthy and I’m surrounded by love.
I have a roof over my head, food on the table and more basic necessities than I probably deserve.
While I’m not immune to struggles and anguish, I’m surrounded by individuals who continually help me get through them.
And you know what? I suspect many of you share these in common as well.
Ram Dass once said, “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”
Disconnect from society for a day – the news, the internet, the social channels.
Allow yourself to become quiet. You might be surprised at the many blessings you’ve been unable to hear through all the negative chatter going on all around us.
It’s that quiet which just might make you realize that the year 2016 wasn’t all that bad.
Happy New Year!
