We approach the coming of a new year. A time to reassess the past year’s successes and missteps. A time to shed those things that take away from life’s true value.

Not a day goes by when we are not bombarded with noise coming from every direction. Horns blaring at every intersection and highway from impatient drivers. Televisions with hundreds of channels yet little to nothing of substance to watch. Phones ringing with spam call after spam call. Email inboxes filled with advertisements and even more spam. So many reports of devastating violence and the potential of much more to come. Even the news utilizes name-calling and doomsday scenarios instead of simple factual reporting. Compromise is firmly cast aside to keep the divisiveness loud and biting while the public is kept on edge and often in the dark. Anxiety is growing in every demographic.

What is the point of all this noise? All this anxiety?

What if, for just a moment, each person reassessed their lives and determined which components were of greatest value? I strongly suspect (as philosophers have done for eons) that the answers will revolve firmly around family, friends, and nature.

So put down the computers. Turn off the televisions and radios. Put away the smartphones. Look around you & see what life is really about.

Find the quiet miracles. Fill your lives with awe.