new year, same you

having heard "new year, new you" several times now, each time it striking me as a bit off, i wondered why?  granted, i will be the first to cheer for self-growth in all its many forms. but i also believe we don't fundamentally change all that much in terms of who we are.

plus, notwithstanding that we all have ways to improve, i really like myself and my tribe of folks just the way we are!  (in fact, one of those friends gifted me a fred rogers quotes calendar--he was so famous for telling us we are liked just the way we are since we were small children on channel 10!)

words that are coming to me for 2023 are:  restore, enjoy, and content.  having given 150% of myself the last several years, it's time to rest.  

we can, mercifully, as a species begin coming down i think from a hyper-vigilant state that we may have found ourselves in OR poke our head up and reactivate if we found ourselves wanting to overly zone out.  i think enjoyment for me is somewhere in the healthy middle:  caring about others always of course, while also making a return to laughter, play, and a more relaxed mindset.

my spiritual director calls it "taking a long, loving look at the real."  this phrase keeps me in tune with what's actually going on around me while allowing for a peaceful and hopefully fruitful response.  even monks read the daily newspaper alongside their liturgies, praying into the state of the world.

i have "tikkun olam" in hebrew just outside my front door.  it reminds me, whether i'm going to work, the store, or just out for a walk, that i get to particpate in the healing of the world.  which includes me and you!  

so let me echo fred rogers and be among the first this year to say i like you just the way you are.  let's not change too much, lest we not recognize one another!  our quirks and characteristics are like scratches on a well-loved cutting board or chinks in a favorite dish.  

i have enough.  i am enough.

new year, same you!