Farewell 2023, and good riddance.\u00a0 In our generation, it is hard to recall a more heartbreaking, crisis-ridden 12 months.\u00a0 The year-in-review news summaries are enough to turn the toughest stomach. Wars, weather crises, political turmoil, unrelenting gun violence—it is enough to bow the most fervently faithful head.<\/p>\n
As we all search the horizon for bright spots, seeking hope anywhere, I started a list of inspirations from 2023.\u00a0 From the tiny and personal to the global, the private to the very public, here are 10 widely disparate things and people\u2014some more serious than others–that were bright lights for me in a tough year. In no particular order:<\/p>\n
Neighbors still help neighbors<\/strong>.\u00a0 In early summer, a favorite neighbor up the street experienced a sudden and serious medical emergency while alone at home.\u00a0 Her kind and attentive son, blocked from reaching her quickly by an untimely traffic problem, called a neighbor, who called another neighbor, who brought still more neighbors.\u00a0 All raced to her, waiting with her for the ambulance and tending to her home and beloved dogs while she got the medical attention she needed in the hospital.\u00a0 Waiting for her return home, we circled round, making lists of how best to help in the next phase and sharing ideas for what would mean most to her. Interestingly, our street of all recently built homes forms a very new set of neighbors. \u00a0There\u2019s such hope in watching how quickly the bonds of community form and sustain.<\/p>\n Sean Dietrich is an influencer of hope<\/strong>.\u00a0 This writer, a columnist, novelist, and humorist, devotes his career to inspiring readers through sharing stories of the downtrodden, the overlooked, the defeated.\u00a0 He testifies to how they struggle, and how they rise.\u00a0 He shared so many memorable stories this year there is no room to list them all, but his blooming friendship with a young blind girl named Becca who has an angelic singing voice has stirred my heart every single time.\u00a0 You don\u2019t follow Sean<\/a> to experience literary greatness; you follow Sean if you want to believe that greatness in the human spirit still triumphs in daily life.<\/p>\n I got Wordle in two.<\/strong>\u00a0 Twice in the same week!\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing like blazing, blind luck to inspire hope.\u00a0 If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.\u00a0 Never, ever, ever give up.<\/p>\n One doctor really listened<\/strong>.\u00a0 Absorbing my frustration about a medical problem that lingered, unabated by treatment thus far, the young doctor (about the age of my daughter, I surmised) snapped his laptop shut.\u00a0 He turned on the stool in the examining room to face me directly and hear me out.\u00a0 My problem was nowhere close to serious or life-threatening, but it was throwing my daily life off balance, and I was getting desperate.\u00a0 This has been going on too long, I fumed, and he quietly agreed.\u00a0 Sometimes it takes multiple tries to find the solution, he added calmly.\u00a0 Can you hang in there with me while we keep trying?\u00a0 He really heard me, I thought to myself, shocked to realize how rare that has become.\u00a0 Hope renewed by having an ally, I said I would. And I did.<\/p>\n The Covenant School parents just won\u2019t go away<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0The March 27 slaughter at Covenant School of three children and three adults by a deranged former student with an assault rifle was described by our mayor as Nashville\u2019s worst day.\u00a0 The ripples of heartbreak and despair spread everywhere in the community.\u00a0 Conversely, there are ripples of hope, maybe small, but still visible, in the determined voices of the Covenant parents\u2019 group that is publicly advocating for improved gun safety in Tennessee.\u00a0 Soundly defeated, even harassed and vilified for their intervention at a special session of Tennessee\u2019s legislature in late summer, they are already speaking out as the lawmakers prepare to reconvene in the new year.\u00a0 There\u2019s a faint but discernible glimmer of light in the widening circle of churches and other community-based groups rallying to support their position and kindling the public dialogue.<\/p>\n When love wins, the light reflects on many<\/strong>.\u00a0 This summer, my daughter married a loving and kind man in a ceremony meticulously planned to reflect their joy in each other.\u00a0 Watching a child transformed by a loving partnership is surely one of a parent\u2019s greatest gifts.\u00a0 Watching the parallel joy of her children in their new family unit adds a dimension that beams hope all over the place.<\/p>\n Kentucky re-elected Gov. Andy Beshear<\/strong>.\u00a0 Major political forces invested heavily in creating a different result, but the voters in my home state nevertheless returned their governor to his office for another four years.\u00a0 It is so hard, sometimes almost impossible, to like or admire politicians in these times. Yet Beshear inspires hope by demonstrating that public officials can choose to rise above the current tide and lead with vision and decency.\u00a0 Faced with the pandemic and multiple weather-related tragedies, Beshear speaks common sense, refuses to indulge in ugly partisanship, and openly acknowledges his faith without weaponizing it.\u00a0 Here\u2019s hoping he has a long and successful career as a public servant in the best sense.<\/p>\n When you need an optimism demo, watch a dog<\/strong>.\u00a0 Yes, yes, yes, legends are written, and movies are made about all the magical gifts of animals\u2014their dedication, their healing powers, their learning skills and discernment.\u00a0 On that very long list of things to cherish in their daily lives, I choose optimism.\u00a0 In my house, there\u2019s a morning ritual as predictable as dawn; my dog spins, dances and prances in front of the closet door closed on his food bin.\u00a0 Not in so many words, he radiates hope and absolute, unwavering confidence: You\u2019re going to open that door, I just KNOW it, and you\u2019re doing to scoop that stuff for me, ANY MINUTE NOW!\u00a0 I know you are, I know it, I DO, and I\u2019m SO EXCITED I can\u2019t stand it ONE MORE SECOND.\u00a0 And I will say ALL this again tomorrow, and every morning after that.<\/p>\n