So New Year’s Week is almost over. After that, it is a slippery slide to Memorial Day and then July 4th, and soon we are in the Holiday Season again. I have heard of people making a five-year plan for where they want to be and the level of their success after what seems like a substantial amount of time. Now that I am old I realize that five years goes by like the blink of an eye. 

I peered at my reflection in the barber’s mirror earlier this week and noticed an elderly gentleman looking back at me. I wondered what they had done with my youthful appearance. However many friends older than me have admonished that the goal is to stay on this side of the dirt. 

Just being and having a sense of place are the true adventures. So many of our profound concerns turned into nothing and our wellspring of worries were little more than overactive assumptions regarding others. Hope and happiness are in front of us if we choose to avail ourselves of them. 

Somewhere we have gotten a bit lost. Where we once saw politics through our faith. Now we have replaced faith with our politics. The idea that any earthly leader will suffice in the light of the war for America has dimmed our vision and diminished us in the Christian journey. Christianity equates to mean and arrogant people who are self-satisfied in their righteousness many of our neighbors think. I am not talking about one political party but both. The message of Christ is neither the bloodthirsty warrior who is defending America against the infidels…nor is he the comfortable parishioner who has little time for the poor among them…

Talk is cheap. Actions speak volumes. Perhaps who we are is not who we want to be. There is no better time to change the picture than today. Remember in five years you can look back and say I began my road of change during New Year’s Week of 2024…and that has made all of the difference…