Early January, with a New Year, is often like a reset button. We are coming out of holidays, setting our focus on re-entry into daily routines, while simultaneously reflecting on new goals and intentions. Take a moment to consider that even though traditions vary, the New Year is a global event; Saturday, January 3, made that clear, with the global shock of America's clandestine arrest of Venezuela's President--a rocky entry into our collective 'newness". All the more reason to set your personal intentions for 2026, from your own spiritual depths.
As I write today, it is cold, dark, and raining in a week of more storms. New Year's Day though, the storm lifted in the afternoon, and I joined family for an outing. We drove past a crowded display of Rose Bowl parade floats that had weathered the rain, and were parked locally for viewing. The scene was teeming with cars and pedestrian traffic, but the real wonder was the sky. For this brief late afternoon, the sky was magnificently blue, with streaks of gold shifting toward the sun on the horizon. There were heavenly white clouds floating overhead, opening to reveal a full white moon. I was driving, but the stalled traffic let me pause to watch the sky's spectacular promise of better days in 2026. That's how I chose to interpret the vision, even with more rain, rain, rain in the forecast.
We eventually made our way through the traffic and headed to nearby Altadena, the epicenter of the Eaton Fire disaster of January 7, 2025. Our destination was a beloved park in the hills that had been decimated in the fire. In the past year, Altadena raised some $60 million in Public-private funds for restoration of parks. We had read this particular one had been completely rebuilt. It seemed the perfect place for an outdoor welcoming of a New Year. And it was. It's a beautiful, upgraded, modern playground, with the mountain above, and the city below, in an energy that vibrates with the power of human and Nature's resilience. The park was packed with children, parents, (grandparents!), laughter and even music from playful pipe instruments. We stayed until dark.
This first full week of 2026, while you mull over your New Year intentions and digest the news, I encourage you to go beyond your personal goals, and include the affirmation of collective resilience, healing, and innovation. In a year that seems to have been about "taking away", the New Year can affirm an openness to Newness of Heart, Newness of Intellect, Newness of Discovery, Newness of Creativity. The world is large; the cosmos even larger. Don't let the losses of last year, or new political shocks swarm you. It really is time to begin again. (Susan Nettleton)
Below is an affirmation inspired from Tagore, samplings of New Year Affirmations inspired from Larry Morris's poetry, and a New Thought link with more 2026 affirmations. Pick yours! "And Joy is everywhere": http://www.inspirationpeak.com/cgi-bin/poetry.cgi?record=22 "I'm grateful that this is enough": https://hillsidesource.com/before-the-clouds "I am where I belong": https://hillsidesource.com/your-guidance-for-me-poem "A new beginning is already forming inside me, printed in my heart": https://hillsidesource.com/freshstart For more affirmations: https://folxwithfaith.org/2026_affirmations/