As the season winds up, and then down, we look backward to understand how the past year shaped who we are now, and forward to who we might become.

In the quiet moments, few and far between this time of year, may you see the year’s mistakes and missteps not as failures, but as simply facts that will neither define nor detract from the story of your life.

As Adrian Brody’s character says in The Brothers Bloom (one of the great movies no one has seen):

“There’s no such thing as an unwritten life. Just a badly written one.”

Why wait to start writing the next chapter? Life is messy and rarely fits conveniently into perfect 365-day segments from Jan 1 – Dec 31. If something happened this year you’d like to move on from, or improve upon, get to it!

One note on family: This is a difficult time of year for many, and for varied reasons. You may have lost someone, or don’t feel close to your given family anymore. Just remember, you don’t owe anybody anything just because it’s the end of the calendar year. Spend this time as you see fit, and take care of your physical and mental wellbeing above all else.

Whatever holiday you may celebrate, if any at all, I wish you happiness and health.

As always, be well, and be kind. I’ll see you in the new decade!

With love,

Brian