More New Year's Thoughts

 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

          Someone on social media asked how we can have an enjoyable new year with the pandemic. Of course, my first thought was, “That depends on what you consider enjoyable.” That led me to the question of what I considered enjoyable about 2020. The answers I ended up giving him were that I enjoyed accomplishing things, helping (myself and others – but truth told, I tend to enjoy helping others more,) and learning. I suggested to him that whatever the two or three broad areas were for him, that he should pursue them.

          Science tells us that endorphins make us feel good. They are responsible for the “high” you feel after working out, and for the “high” you feel when you’ve helped someone who needed it. They are the body’s response to stress. So if we want an enjoyable year, we need to stress ourselves. We need to exercise every part of us. We need to help (do good for) ourselves and others.

          What science tells me, then, is that to have an enjoyable year, I need to accomplish things, help myself and others, and learn. Yesterday’s conclusions about what I need to do are to bow the knee, get on my feet, and hit the ground running. Today’s passage ties in with all of these. What bowing the knee looks like – in part – is acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.

          Your three broad areas may be different from mine, but exerting, stressing, or challenging yourself in them will be what makes 2021 a good year. You may have another way of describing what you sense about next year, but whatever they are, keep them before you as you head into the year. At the end of 2021, I’d like to be able to say that I am both exhausted and energized, or endorphined because I pulled together these ideas.