Daily Meditation for January 1, 2024

On January 1, we think about making positive changes in our life and choose admirable New Year’s resolutions. Time has passed. Do we remember what we hoped to change? Rita Watson, an associate fellow at Yale’s Ezra Stiles College, shared some thoughts that may help us to have a happy 2024. She suggests that laughter, listening with the ear of our heart, helping others, and letting go of anger all bring happiness into our lives. Actually, an angry heart has a way of subsiding when we send good wishes to someone who has hurt us and medically our heart is healthier. Or take gratitude, for another example. “Gratitude,” says Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., professor of psychology, “is an attitude, not a feeling that can easily be willed. Our attitudes will change our behavior. Eventually we find ourselves realizing that these practices really have become part of our daily lives, nurturing our body, mind and Spirit.”

By Georganne Burr, OSB