We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Dr. Martin Luther King

We’ve nearly made it.

In a few days we will all be celebrating.

I certainly understand the anticipation of a new year, but when the clock strikes midnight early Friday morning, it will not only be the end of 2020, it will be … another day.

It will be Friday. Probably not altogether different than today, or Thursday, or any other day of the week.

I know this probably is not what you want to hear.

It is unlikely our challenges will disappear as we enter the new year. We still have to navigate what is hopefully the final stretch of a pandemic. We have all experienced loss — some minor inconvenience, some significant life interruptions, and some life-altering tragedies. We still need time to grieve those losses and to come to grips with how this pandemic has altered every day life. This process will take time and a return to something that resembles normal would certainly be helpful.

It is my prayer that we have those opportunities for reflection and healing in 2021.

We know our problems will not disappear, but we need the hope that a new year brings. I tweeted this earlier today.

It's true that a new year can renew our hope, but it's also just a date on a calendar.

We can begin to be hopeful today. Through self-care. In the way we treat others. Through our words. With kindness, empathy, and gratitude.

Choose a path today that leads to hope. Don't wait.

— Jeff Delp (@azjd) December 30, 2020

While a new year won’t be the solution to our problems, we can choose to be hopeful.

We can view each day as an opportunity to heal ourselves and demonstrate care for others. We can choose a path of empathy, kindness, and gratitude. We can treat people with dignity and respect, maintain an attitude of thankfulness for what we have, and demonstrate appreciation and empathy for what others have lost. We can choose to walk alongside others — for our sake, and for their’s.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Mahatma Gandhi

If done right, it will be the collective and caring actions of our society that will provide hope. Not a date on the calendar.

As the new year approaches, choose to walk a path of hope and bring others with you.