Questions for the New Year

How to Tread Slowly

Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to fit the vision, instead we are always changing the vision.

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

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Merry Christmastide, friends!

These days following Christmas are some of my favorite of the year. The hope of Christ is freshly born into the world, reviving my bedraggled heart. Why am I always surprised by the spark? Even time seems to relax in celebration as we rest from the typical routines, enjoying festivities with extended family and asking one another, “What day is it again?” Unread texts and emails accumulate on my silenced phone and computer. And somewhere in the midst, the year’s hard efforts settle like dust in the air. I begin to see and listen differently.

Rest always restores vision.

On a walk with my husband this week, he mentioned the adage about insanity as “doing the same thing and expecting a different result.” It is the sort of line that seems obvious yet impossible to avoid. Dreaming or planning for the future is natural this time of year. Yet, it sometimes feels impossible to avoid falling into the same previous patterns and habits, especially when pursuing something new. We all are inclined toward the familiar and comfortable, for better and worse, but is it always clear what “thing” needs changing? Not for me.

I have learned over the years not to rush the threshold of the new year, demanding the way forward, but instead to receive this annual window of time as a gift, treading slowly, requesting a lamp unto my feet and a light for the path. Plans naturally unfold. For those desiring the same, here are three helpful recommendations for the week ahead: minimize digital life, make time for walking, and keep a journal and/or planner nearby with the questions below for reflection and clarity.

Enjoy the respite and gift of time, my friends. I’ll see you in the new year.

Questions for the Threshold of a New Year