Don’t look now, but 2024 is biting the dust.

It’s OK — 2025 is waiting in the wings.

 Thus, my good friends, we each have a fresh chance to intentionally hit our redo button.

Mind if I offer a few nudges?

Rethink the word love — Sex isn’t love. Enabling isn’t love. Respect isn’t love. Being nice isn’t love. Those may or may not be good things, but love is something extra-special. Best definition – that which we do for the growth and betterment of ourselves and others. Want some real love this coming year? Concentrate on gratitude, valuing who and what you have while you have them, giving others what you need (this one is mojo magic), and being a source of light over darkness.

Get bolder in a good way — A deaf, blind, mute lady named Helen Keller once shook my tree with the quote, “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” With her hurdles in view, what excuse do the rest of us have for a stagnant, comfort-based, waiting-out-the-clock life? Note — bold and daring have little to do with pastel hair, gender confusion, tats, or piercings. That’s false advertising, not adventure. 

Think on your psychoactive medications — Mind altering drugs, legal or other wise, can offer time-out and relief from life’s stressors. Six problems come with the package – they are inconsistently helpful, have side effects, stimulate tolerance problems, provide temporary relief of symptoms vs. problems, increase confidence in drugs instead of our own abilities, and insure a minute of lost growth for every minute we’re high. Spills, pills, or skills offers a short-list of our options – choose wisely. 

Drop the angry, entitled, victim script — Threatened to leave America over Trump’s election or impulsively have your pee-pee altered because you disagree with mother nature’s gender decisions? Need crisis intervention because the prevalence of MAGA hats is leaving you without a safe space? Get over it – the world doesn’t live around you and that script will secure you the attention and respect a toddler gets when they hold their breath. Weird is today’s out-of-date version of a seventies polyester leisure suit.

Ponder your retirement — One of the dumbest things a functional human being can do is retire. Work Akeeps you active, helps you carry your own weight, gets you around people, forces you to grow, and helps you do something good for the world. Besides, our visions of retirement rarely match the reality of retirement. Spoiler alert – for those with a faith foundation, remember the Bible never mentions retirement. More often than not, God put older people – Moses being an example – in the action seat. 

 Start taking care of your bod — It should come as no surprise than in the land of plenty, so many of us have plenty of excess pounds, health hurdles, sleepless nights, and chronic fatigue issues. Your body is like a car – it needs care and maintenance. That means exercise, a nourishing diet, calorie consciousness, and monitoring your health so you can catch problems early. 

The seven deadly sins remain as deadly as ever — Funny how modern man feels he/she/other is exempt from the tribulations associated with the seven deadlies. In case you need an update, the list includes envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth and anger. If you practice these dark arts, you can bet that they are busily puncturing your tires.

 Stop being a critic — Judgement, condemnation, and criticism are easy-peasy behaviors. They are also dumb, dark and deadly. Pay attention as I suggest that whatever you’re doing to others, you are probably also consciously or unconsciously doing to yourself. Rejection is an epidemic in America. Work to be someone you can be proud of and put that critical inner voice in the closet with your polyester leisure suit. Be a validator, not a terminator.

Take a proper stress management approach — We equate managing stress with getting rid of it. In truth, a better option is to change how we respond to stress. This truism was affirmed by the recent COVID cluster-funk. Those who just waited for it to magically go away were beat up like a Chi-Com prisoner harvested kidney. 

Swear undying allegiance to President Trump — Whoops, just kidding. Use this “gotcha” moment to practice stress management, breath control, patience, and your sense of humor. Concentrate on that last one as you remember we live in a fallen crazy world. A sense of humor is crucial to navigating the absurdities.

Blessings to you as we reach the end of a sort-of-tough year and the beginning of one dependably framed with matching doses of danger and opportunity.

That deaf, blind, and mute lady I mentioned earlier would tell us to hush our whining — and have some fun as we once again step up to the plate.