Launching into 2024
“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.” -- Rilke
Hello dear reader,
Almost 2024. If I’m being honest with myself, and with you, I would say that taking stock of the past year—at a time when everyone is keen on doing so with their reading lists and accomplishments and year-end epiphanies, usually focused on the # of books read, the # of goals reached, etc.—has been nothing short of overwhelming for me. The more I slipped from my reading goals in the past year, for instance, the less engaging I found reading to be, and the more vicious became my comparison to others on social media. Sitting down at year’s end to tally things up highlighted this reality in an obnoxious hue. And for a perfectionist like me, that’s a dangerous place to be. Most jarring, it’s also a very hollow and emotionally empty space to reside in. A glaring and uncomfortable realization is what I got instead of a cheerful reflection: