Embracing the New

Back when I was a child and when my children were young, the holidays were filled with magic, music, Christmas cookies, family and friends. The sparkle of the holidays has diminished a little over the years as children have grown and moved away, parents have passed on, extended family members have other commitments. Sometimes, I become introspective and nostalgic about the way things used to be. Some of this is healthy as memories are important and provide us with a reminder of the richness and importance of our relationships through the years. However, the problem with nostalgia is that is so easy to allow oneself to “go down the rabbit hole” and become disappointed or even depressed about how things are different. To offset these feelings of nostalgia, I try to bring new traditions into our holidays such as visiting places we’ve never visited, inviting people over who we’ve never entertained, and becoming involved with new organizations that are deserving of my time. I also feel that this nostalgia/love of what came before happens with our music, movies or tv and news choices. Take music, I am a premium member of Spotify and at the end of the year they send a cool recap of my favorite artists, songs, albums and music genres. I was a little surprised at the results. My most frequent artist played was Billie Holiday; I love jazz, and I am a big Ella fanatic, so it was a little surprising to see Billie edge out Ella. However, the next few artists included another Billie (Eilish), Florence Welch, Billy Strings, Jon Batiste, Cecile Salvant, Trombone Shorty and Beck. All but one of these artists (Beck who is 54) are in their 20’s and 30’s and have been making music their entire lives. A few times, I have heard friends comment that “there is no more good music”, and to that I say, listen to this….Music of every genre is spectacular now. It really is just about listening to some music platform like Pandora or Spotify, specifying “new music” and letting it pick the music for you. My favorite vintage Christmas movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life” which I watch every Christmas Eve. Last night, my husband and I were looking at other choices for a holiday viewing and initially selected the Alistair Sim’s “A Christmas Carol” from 1951. We were about to pay the $4.99 to rent the movie when another movie popped up, “The Holdovers” from 2023 at no fee whatsoever. We decided to watch “The Holdovers” because this instant classic includes universal themes of resilience, family-both original and chosen, friendship, compassion, and survival. Melding humor and drama, this newer movie is both complex and heartwarming and provided the emotional fix I was yearning for this holiday. And how about the news we watch, read or listen to? The legacy news media is fading. Why not explore some of the YouTube channels like the Bulwark that have a variety of young political analysts and individuals with deep expertise in subjects such as economics, politics, finance and world affairs? Why not subscribe to history-laden newsletters like “Letters from an American” by Heather Cox Richardson on Substack? So if you are trying to stimulate some creativity, open-mindedness, zest for life and hope for the future, be willing to step out of your comfort zone. Invite some newness into your life and allow this new information to expand your thoughts and enhance your life in unexpected ways.