A Poem for a New Year

I don’t think I really had words for why I don’t like New Years resolutions. I’ve made them. I’ve broken them. I’ve abandoned them and I’ve spent a lot of time resisting them.

I didn’t really grasp why until I heard Kate Bowler speak with Oliver Burkeman this morning. It echoed with a lot of other things that have been rattling around in my head as 2024 became 2025.

There is a lot going on right now in the world and in our own hearts. I cannot turn my worry away from the devastation of the fires in Los Angeles County right now and my timeline is full of news about wars that I don’t understand. I am longing for so much to change in this world right now and I don’t have the space to make big changes. I don’t want to make big changes in myself because this is work I’m always doing.

It doesn’t start again when the calendar changes. I am always seeking to become more and more the beloved child of God I was created to be. So I’m starting this year with this poem by May Sarton.