Today is the first day of the new year, and, traditionally, we look back at what we hoped to accomplish in the past 12 months and ahead to what we plan to achieve in the next. I’ve decided I’m not doing either this year.
For once in my life, I’m not setting goals or making a list of resolutions that march me into the future: No lists, no promises, no grand plans.
I’ve reached an age where I finally understand and accept two things: the past is gone, and the future is no sure bet. Both exist only as thoughts in my head.
This isn’t morbid, folks. It’s a gift. It’s a realization that all we truly have is the present moment, and I want to spend it living fully, aware of the countless things around me that deserve my gratitude.
Peace—the state of being we all desire—is only found in presence. It’s not tucked away in yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s expectations. It lives right here, in every breath we take, each thought we choose and the small kindnesses we offer ourselves and others.
Peace isn’t some grand awakening. It’s a returning—a gentle steering of my mind back to what’s real instead of what’s imagined. It grows in the moments I pause long enough to notice what’s good around me—the soft light of sunrise, a baby’s laughter, the song of a cardinal, the scent of a flower—or the simple fact that I’m here.
And every time I let myself rest in that truth, even for a moment, something inside me softens.
Peace isn’t an object for me to chase or earn or check off a list. It’s my natural state—a constant friend I simply forget to greet.
My wish for you as we start this new year is that you discover the peace already living within you—the quiet, steady companion waiting for your attention. That’s what I’m choosing. Want to join me?
Lois Kindle is a freelance writer and columnist for The Observer News. She can be reached at lekindle@aol.com/.