The Newsleaders’ staff members wish all of our readers may enjoy a Happy New Year.
After all the depressing news developments in 2016, everyone is due for big bundles of good news, glad tidings.
This is what we, the staff, wish for our readers and – for that matter – everyone else in the world:
- We wish good health for all. For those who may be ailing, we wish for you to improve and that full health can be restored soon.
- We wish for safe, happy and well-loved children (and pets, too).
- We wish for continued and/or renewed prosperity by which we mean enough income to live contentedly and stress-free, without the anxiety-riddled burdens of bills, especially unforeseen ones like catastrophic medical bills.
- We wish for success to those struggling to lose weight, to improve health through regular exercise regimens, a more nutritious diet and lifestyle changes that include such good choices as cessation of smoking.
- We wish for frequent respites from electronic dependence, whether it be TVs, cell phones, iPads, computers or other devices that prevent us from communicating head to head, heart to heart, in person. (Sadly, there are some people who actually “communicate” with family members in the same household via digital means.)
- We wish more people will begin to celebrate what we all have in common and work toward common goals rather than succumb to forces that divide us. With that spirit in mind, we wish the U.S. Congress finally pass a comprehensive immigration-reform bill, that if Obamacare is repealed, there is a plan to replace it so 20 million Americans who finally gained access to insurance, thanks to Obamacare, will be able to remain insured. We also wish an independent committee unravels how Russia meddled in our democratic process and comes up with ways to prevent it from ever happening again.
- Last but not least, we wish the forces of evil, such as ISIS, collapse of their own exhausting atrocities or are eliminated. It’s time the people in such slaughterhouse places in the world can have a measure of peace, safety and security. The never-ending suffering and death of innocent people, like those trapped in Aleppo, must end.
But, of course, wishes are not enough. Wishes must be put into actions.
That’s un-doable some may think as they sink into apathy or despair. The best way to promote kindness and peace is to choose a good cause and learn all you can about it, then contribute what money you can afford and do volunteer work to advance that cause. It could be as local as working with the humane society or tutoring students, or it can be broader efforts such as pressuring legislators to be true public servants or donating to organizations that help relieve suffering and save lives. (Doctors Without Borders is an excellent choice.)
The only way to make wishes come true is to engage actively with the world around us, to commit money and/or time and then to take positive actions. So many good people do that already; let them be our daily inspirations.
Making the world better is not only do-able; it’s infinitely rewarding.
