comfort and new

If you haven’t heard it already, welcome to another year!

As for me, I appreciate having a designated date on the calendar to begin again. It seems to come at just the right time, before I can spend too long regretting all my holiday indulgence.

Having a new year allows an opportunity for hope, for assessment, for recommitment. It’s a time for change.

But change isn’t always easy. It’s unnatural, it takes effort.

One of the big problems with embracing the new is that it’s not familiar or comfortable.

I think of a stuffed animal my niece has—a cow she calls her “Moomoo.” It is old, falling apart, and even when it’s washed, it still looks dirty. But man does she love that thing! It’s special to her, a reliable source of comfort.

Now, there are good reasons for comfort. It’s important for children to have things that give them comfort in a world filled with new, and often frightening, experiences.

And the recent holidays can and should be a time of comfort and joy to you. It should be a time to relax and take a break from the daily grind and instead enjoy the company of loved ones.

But, after all that, there comes a time to leave the old and comfortable at home and head out in exploration of the strange and new. 

Do you know any adults who are still clinging to those tattered old comfortable things in their lives, refusing to let go? Often it can become an unhealthy bond, such as an eating or drinking habit, a relationship, or a source of entertainment. Let’s not judge them too harshly, we all have our particular vices. The call of couch and blanket is a difficult one to resist, no matter your age. And all those screens with endless shows, games, and social media posts, who can say no?

Most of us will admit we know that too much of these things aren’t good for us, but they’re just so stinking comfortable. We’re used to the lifestyle they feed. Sometimes we don’t even enjoy them anymore—they’re old and tattered—yet we can’t quit them because of the habits we’ve formed around them.

And yet, change is possible. Newness awaits.

Now is as good a time as any for a change. Sleeping in and hanging around the house in your flannel onesie was fine for the holidays, but the New Year is here. I bid you, throw off the covers, clean up, get dressed, and take a confident step outside of your front door into the bright and brisk morning of new. Hey Christopher Robin, bring your Teddy bear along for the ride if you like, just don’t let him hold you back.