New Hope for a New Year

The last day of the year 2007 is here. Tomorrow days of a new year will dawn and with those days, new hope. Yes, that is my hope for this new year. That a joyous new hope for the year that awaits us will make it into a happy one. We leave behind us a year that's been full of injustices and suffering, setbacks and struggles. In our neighborhoods as well as in our international community. The latest event in Pakistan being one of them to be mentioned here, where Benazir Bhutto was recently murdered. But the year's also been a year of coming together for community and doing good in all possible ways. A few weeks ago when I was feeling discouraged, when you're just struck with that hopelessness you know, a friend of mine said to me: "But remember, we are a lot of people working for a better world as we're trying to live differently." And I was once again reminded of that, and that another world is possible as we day by day can come together to make a difference. To see thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. To love our neighbor as ourselves. To overcome evil with good. To bring forth this joyous hope.

I am contemplating over three things mainly this evening, being inspired by three C.S Lewis quotes as I make it my thoughts here for this new year.

During this season in particular we can see the emptiness of materialism being exposed as the greatest myth, in that buying more and more stuff will make you happy cannot stand against the community of friends and family that we know that Christmas really is about. My hope for this year is for this lie of materialism to continue to break into pieces as more and more people come to experience the joy that is not in consuming and that lasts longer than any impuls item being bought. "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man." Also, that greed will get lost in the grace that I hope can enable us to share our lives and things even more. Where we may walk that extra mile for someone; lending our car to that neighbor (or the subway card - if you really wanna think about the environment), buying groceries to that family in need, forgiving that friend or wrong being done to you even when it feels unforgivable. Because, with this said..."Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful." May we show mercy and be people of peace, proclaiming justice anywhere as we see injustices being made everywhere. Last but not least my hope for this year is that we'll be given a new spark of imagination and creativity into whatever we're doing, seeing the new possibilities in what first inspired us. As we're trying to live differently, I hope we'll dare to dream big and start with the small things. "Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning."

With wishes of a Hopeful New Year, Heléne