New Year, New Expectations?

Recently, my niece and nephew were informing me about the “Great Meme Reset” and I was reminded of that time of Y2K back in my day. Time was going to re-start, the world might blow up, you know, the uge. No big deal. And while most of us might fear the end of the world, some of us might welcome a fresh start, a clean slate. (No baggage from the last decades? Sign me up!) 

But as anyone knows who’s lived a few decades, a new year is never quite that simple. You want to set new expectations, but life feels oh-so-same, and you hesitate to hope that things will improve. You don’t want to let go of the safe, the familiar. Because chaos might ensue. And if you’ve had a tragic loss, or a massive disappointment in a hoped-for relationship or experience, you may understandably guard yourself. Stick with the known, don’t move into uncharted territory. You don’t have the bandwidth for even more heartaches. 

That works, for a bit. But what is the cost? What shape does your soul take, what arc does your spine make? How do we hold hope when we’ve been bruised so many times, and can at times hardly walk? I know one thing–we can’t do it alone. Reach out to a loved one, a workout buddy, a trusted colleague. Consider therapy for dedicated time and nurture for yourself. Share a tidbit of the hopes and/or fears. May you feel known as you step into this new year.