Happy New Year!

A friend and I recently compared notes about the holidays. Neither of us mailed a single card this year (my husband picked up some of the slack and wrote the holiday letter and sent a few cards-there were too many other things on my plate…) It wasn’t that any of us lacked holiday spirit.

 

My friend had spent time with family. “The gift is our presence,” she said. “People are yearning to be with other people. Social media can’t do it. Phone calls can’t do it. With so much distress in the world, you need to look people in the eye, make time for others, and have coffee with them. We have to physically be there both with and for other people.”

 

For me, it was really about winnowing out anything extra that felt like I couldn’t do and still retain equilibrium about what really mattered. I too spent time with family in Florida. There are one or two things I bake or brew that mean Christmas-like cranberry canes and mulled wine. There were a few simple presents I bought. But that was it.

 

And it was all enough. I want to retain that for the New Year. A simpler way of being. Spending time with people I care about.

 

What about you? What is it about the holidays you want to retain for the New Year?

 

May we pursue our paths, bringing the best of the holidays to 2018, remembering that our presence is our gift to the world,

 

Best wishes,

 

Elizabeth