I rarely make New Year's resolutions anymore; instead, I have adopted a mindset of continuous learning. This means that when I gain new knowledge through lived experience, I strive to apply it and improve myself. Last year was particularly difficult for me and my family as we experienced significant losses, including my sister, brother-in-law, best friend, tribal elders, and community members Walking On. In light of this, I decided this year to just concentrate on a single word: Joy.

We all understand the immense power that words hold. Now, only two weeks into the new year, I can tell you I’ve already had plenty of opportunities to remind myself the importance of focusing on what matters. Granted, amidst all the challenges and during tough times, it’s harder than it sounds. Similarly, focusing on a specific word has made me more conscientious and thoughtful of the words I choose to speak, recognizing that words can be used to build people up or tear people down. Likewise, the words we speak can inspire or discourage. I’m reminded of a story after taking a Dale Carnegie leadership class a few years ago. In his bestselling book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, he tells the story of a young man in the early nineteenth century in London who aspired to be a writer. Sadly, everything seemed to be against him. He left school at the age of 12 to work in a boot factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtor’s prison. He had so little confidence in his ability to write that he snuck out at night to mail his first manuscript in the dead of night so nobody would laugh at him. Story after story was refused. Finally, the great day came when one accepted. True, he wasn’t paid one shilling for it, but one editor had given him praise and encouraged him. He was so thrilled that he wandered aimlessly around the streets with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. Those words of praise changed his whole life for if it hadn’t been for that encouragement, he might have spent his entire life working in a rat-infested factory. You might recognize his name, the famous Charles Dickens. This story is a two-fold reminder for me as the giver and receiver: one, you never know how an encouraging word can change the trajectory of a person’s life and two, that joy and success can be found even in the most difficult circumstances if we shift our perspective. 

For me, choosing to focus on one word for the year is not a fleeting resolution but a lifelong commitment to focus on what matters most, the love of family and friends and being in community. 

Moreover, we are constantly sowing seeds of encouragement or discouragement, whether we intend to or not, whether we are aware of it or not. Similarly, every interaction presents us with a chance to bring positivity into someone's day, and it is our decision which seeds we decide to sow. In this upcoming year, I have made the choice to sow seeds of joy and encouragement to everyone I encounter. That, my friends, is my hope and prayer for all of us in 2024, that we may all continue to be blessed and in turn, be a blessing. Happy New Year to you & yours.

Q’at