Happy New Year 2019

I want to take a moment to wish all of you a very happy, healthy and productive New Year.  I am not much for “New Year’s resolutions” if only because I believe that every day is an opportunity to wake and live renewed, refreshed, and committed.  That said, I will offer a few thoughts on those themes because, well, tis the season!

I’m going to accept some assistance from others as I offer these thoughts for the New Year.  As we say in support group: “Life is tough, even tougher if we go it alone. It is so important to lean in to others and to get help when and where we can.”  So here are two things that inspired me recently and I hope they will inspire you too. Let’s start with a feel good story.

My son Ari has been asking me to go with him to a Celtics game for what seemed like forever. I am a Celtics fan and I am certainly an “Ari” fan, but somehow I just had not gotten my act together to get us tickets. Ari has been home on his semester break and he finally stuck a laptop in front of me and told me to order the tickets. We went to the game the other night, we even coaxed Jordana in to joining us, and we had an amazing time.  Even more amazing-Hayward scored 35 points and the Celtics won even without Kyrie.

Now, here’s the really fun part: Sitting next to us was a young boy, probably seven or eight years old.   It was the boy’s first Celtics game and he was so excited. His father was pointing out the various players and the boy was cheering loudly. Quite unexpectedly, a man sitting in the row behind us, reached down and handed the boy a basketball. The ball was covered with signatures. The boy’s eyes grew wide. The man told the boy that the ball was for him and he pointed out the various players’ and coaches’ autographs.

It was a beautiful moment. Just a simple random act of kindness and generosity. One man’s selfless gesture created a moment of joy that a young boy will always remember. Each of us contain the power to make a difference for someone else -- no matter how small or large the gesture. I found New Year’s inspiration in “Basketball Man’s” gift and I hope it spurs more acts of kindness as others hear the retelling.

I stumbled upon my second inspiration this week in the form of a poem. I was an English major in college and read a fair amount of poetry, yet somehow I missed this gem from Mary Oliver.

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean-

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver, 1992

To that I would just add “and when do you plan to do it?” Seize the moment and make the most of today.  Neither is ever coming back.

So, as we start 2019, and as we start each new day, I am thinking about these small inspirations -- little gems I happened to stumble upon that were created by others. Happy New Year!