Now that we are back from what I hope was a relaxing and joyful break, I offer you a window into my New Year’s reflections and resolutions. For many, 2022 was, in a phrase, a lot. Despite the hardships of such a year, there is much to celebrate if we only give ourselves permission to remember and reflect. I hope you hold close to the moments of love, peace, and joy you and your family experienced.
I invite you to join me and set a resolution or two for yourself for this new year. I traditionally set two types of goals: one for myself and the other for our community. So, in the spirit of holding myself accountable, I share them with you so we may achieve these goals together.
For myself: It feels cliched, but with each passing year, things move a bit faster. So this year, I plan to be more intentional about staying in the moment. I think about Alex Tzelnic’s Mindfulness Toolkit and the good guidance it offers to achieve this. Hopefully, whether it is an important meeting with a family, my teaching—which began in earnest this week!—or a conversation with a colleague, I will stay in and enjoy every moment. To do that, I will need to slow down and treat my body and mind well with exercise, reading, writing, and abundant patience for myself and others. Those who know me well will be aware that practicing patience may be the most significant challenge I will have.
For Belmont Day: I am reminded of the work to develop our school mission statement in 2018. As we deliberated over every word, the pairing of “caring and joy” to conclude the statement was an early and foundational decision. Caring and joy are at the center of my thinking as I consider our work together as a community in the new year.
COVID and the nature of the pandemic response both here and beyond reshaped our thinking and required maintaining distance from others. The unfortunate result is a habit—considering ourselves before others—that must be broken. Though the pandemic continues and COVID cases fluctuate with the season, I invite us all to take on the resolution of looking beyond ourselves towards a greater good and purpose.
As it happens, on Friday, January 20, during our MLK assembly with our friends from Pine Street Inn, there will be an early opportunity to consider others. Finding joy in caring for one another will be a worthy resolution for us all.
Happy 2023, Belmont Day!
