Creative-Sunday || All About You - Anita Wilson (cover) by @jessicaossom

In just a matter of hours, fireworks will erupt signaling the start of a fresh calendar year. As the clock inches closer to midnight, anticipation mounts. The new year represents a turning point - a delineation between then and now, past and future.

Standing at this transitional gateway prompts reflection on the previous 12 months now ebbing away. We remember accomplishments that sparked pride, goals accomplished through resilience, moments of belly laughter with those we love. There were likely also setbacks, heartaches, worries that kept sleep at bay and plans interrupted by forces beyond control.

Such is the natural cycle of life - a poetic dance of color and shadow, joy and sorrow, births and deaths, openings and closings. The year fading into archival history contained the full spectrum of human experience. We may look back with wistfulness, nostalgia or relief, eager to cradle hopeful possibility.

With the dawn of January 1st, there is a collective clean slate awaiting imaginative vision. The opportunity to begin anew with lessons learned can infuse the soul with motivation. What shall we set out to create, pursue, nurture or relinquish in the so-called New Year? The empty pages stretch out full of potential.

Some may face the turning of the calendar with readiness - armed with resolutions, strategic plans aimed to enrich their lives. Others perhaps feel tentative, uncertain exactly how the months will unfold but aspiring simply to flow with purpose from one season to the next.

Still more among us watch the passing of time with grief or anxiety, for whom the future promises continued hardship or elusive stability. Unseen winds may still carry distressing unknowns. Renewal emerges slowly through just embracing the present, celebrating tiny joys and shouldering on.

No matter one's vantage point this eve of 2024’s nascent start, may we offer fellow sojourners empathy, compassion and shared stories of our winding roads. For inspiration exists all around if we open our gaze to notice quiet or dramatic courage.

As the countdown to midnight nears, excited crowds will hold sparkling flutes awaiting toasts that christen the next adventure around the sun. We are all fellow creators of this elusive quality called Time. May we infuse it with those things that most nurture human hearts - kindness, artistry, unity, beauty, hope.

Onward ho to bold new horizons!

As we stand at this reflective precipice between the slipping past and unfolding future, may we carry beloved memories while boldly embracing the unfolding unknown. Both nostalgia and anticipation have their place. Through cultivating openness, creativity and compassionate community, I believe we will write a story worthy of celebration when the next year-end comes to pass.

Rather than just turn the page and move on, we have been gifted a chance here to pause and craft aspirations. It is my hope we can see challenges in the coming days not as obstacles but opportunities to learn, grow and lift one another. May we nourish dreams, strengthen relationships, heal divides so that our shared tomorrows shine brighter. There is still so much to dare, to give and to become - onward with heads and hearts held high!