Bjcorbin's Blog

I’ve seen a lot of whimsical thoughts posted about the new year, but after more than half a century on the planet it comes down to this for me.  The coming year will undoubtedly feature moments of exhilaration, and of disappointment; sunny days and storms; periods of monotony, and others filled with unscripted drama.  Each day will come with a thousand reasons to be sad or mad, while joy will only be found by those who diligently seek it. None of us has much control over the elements that swirl around our existence, but we have a great deal of say in how we respond to them.  If we don’t learn to overcome the hurts of the past, they will most certainly overcome us.  If we don’t take control of our thoughts and fears, they will undoubtedly take control of us.  If we refuse to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes, we are bound to keep repeating them.  And if we try to govern people and circumstances that are outside our control, we will only frustrate and exhaust ourselves.  As the old prayer goes, God grant me the strength to change the things I can change, the patience to live with the things I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.  There are blessings in this new year, but Amazon Prime won’t be delivering them to our door step.