Keep The Hope of New Year's Alive All Year by Wal Ozello

What are you demanding for yourself this year?

A new relationship?  Making an old one new? Ending one that’s on a road to nowhere?

A change in habit? A healthier lifestyle? A commitment to losing weight? Handling stress better?

Fiscal improvement? Investing money? A new job? Less work?

Why do we place such pressures on ourselves over the tick tock of a clock?

If you really think about it, January 1, 2015, is just another day. But most people on this earth treat it as catalyst for a personal makeover. With a simple move of the second hand on our watches, we wash away the pain and anguish of the previous three hundred and sixty-five days and embrace the brand new year with hope for awesome opportunities ahead.

All because Pope Gregory XIII said the year would end one second and then start the New Year a second later. Think about that. We’re basing our emotional attitudes on what some guy declared almost five hundred years ago.

Instead of counting seconds, why not make each day count?  Imagine waking up every day and having that same hopeful feeling you do on January 1st?  That feeling you’ve wiped your slate clean and can achieve anything you want to?

Why do we wait three hundred and sixty-five days to have that euphoric feeling?

There’s a lot we need to accomplish in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Lots of things we still need to fix from 2014. As a nation, we need to figure out how we can correct pockets of excessive force used by law enforcement AND at the same time improve the appreciation we have of those that gracefully serve.

We need to figure out how to battle world-wide diseases without being isolationists AND protect American lives.

We need to establish a better, easier path for those that want to share in the American Dream AND protect the foundational laws that make this nation strong.

We need to help defeat oppressiveness in remote parts of the world as the Middle East AND set them up for success to pave their own path to freedom.

We can’t let these issues disappear with the New Year.

At the same time, January 1 can’t be our only day of hope. More challenges will arise in 2015. Let’s commit to tackling them head on as they appear, instead of hoping they fade away when the clock changes from 2015 to 2016.

One day isn’t enough to change the world.  We need a lifetime.

Wal Ozello is  a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars  and Revolution 1990. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffe

Thanksgiving Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time by Wal Ozello

Let's be honest. The world is really messed up right now.

Ferguson. Immigration. Healthcare. All polarizing events that are splitting the country in half. You're either for the decisions that have been made by those leading the government or against them. The emotion behind everyone's conversation seems to rise to a boil instantly.

ISIS. Ebola. Crisis that are affecting the whole world. Sure, they are over-sensationalized by the media but they are very real and a threat to all of our livelihoods.

These big issues shadow other stories that would have been big news otherwise: Bill Cosby's rape allegations, the 12 year old that was killed by policeman for brandishing a BB gun, the fraternities suspended for gang rape at the University of Virginia.

Oh... and by the way... the Nigerian school girls that were kidnapped back in April? Still missing.

Personally, this hasn't been a great year for the world around me. I've got friends who are sick with cancer, friends who have died, and several friends that have recently lost their jobs.

2014 is one depressing year.

So with racism, rape, death, and terrorism flooding the headlines, what in the world can we be thankful for?

A lot.

As you sit down to enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, here are some "Thanks-Starters":

1) You have food in front of you. (obvious one)

2) You're surrounded by family and friends. (Even if you're uncle's a douchbag)

3) We live in a country where there is due process and a trial system. (We also have the ability to protest without repercussions in the event we believe justice isn't served.)

4) We have easy access to the world's best healthcare. (If we can't afford it, the government's going to end up footing the bill from the ER.)

5) The media is really good at punishing those that have sinned in the public eye. (Cosby may never face trial for his accused rape charges, but his legacy has flipped from the jello pudding man to rapist.)

6) By comparison to the rest of the world, we're really rich.

This is just the beginning of things we can be grateful for. I believe there's still good in this world. It's there to be found. Sometimes you have to pull up every stone that's been thrown and check under it.

From everyone here at Pencilstorm, we wish you, your families, and your friends, a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Wal Ozello is  a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars  and Revolution 1990. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

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