So It's Now 2017...

2017 has arrived. 2016 has ended. Life feels pretty much the same...

 For all the good in 2016 and for all the bad in 2016, the clock passing midnight on December 31st, 2016 once again wasn't actually a catalyst for change. I've never understand this notion that there's some kind of reset button that lets us start over each year. Life, or at least my life, doesn't work that way. Whatever I was dealing with on December 31st is still there when I wake up on January 1st. It doesn't resolve until I do the work to resolve it.

 I set goals, not necessarily yearly goals, but goals nonetheless. I work on my goals and change them as my schedule demands, and that means some years look better than others for accomplishments.

 As I look at 2017, I know what my projects are. I know what needs to be done. And while I'm disappointed I didn't publish any books in 2016, it's okay because I know where I'm at with my various projects. I will publish them when they're ready, hopefully that will be in 2017.

I also know that 2017 will have ups and downs and all arounds. People will die. People will be born. People will love. People will hate. Wars will be fought. People will proclaim they want peace while spreading the very hate that creates war. Politicians will lie. Promises will be made. Promises will be broken. People will lose jobs. People will find jobs. Corporations will buy politicians. Our water, earth, and air will be polluted. People will share half-truths and outright lies on social media. People will protest. People will acquiesce. People will fight. People
will argue. People will find everything they cherish about the lives they lead challenged. People will worry their loved ones will fall victim to someone's hate. People will fall victim to someone's hate. Murder will happen. Rape will happen. Violence will happen. Compassion will happen. Vengeance will happen. Forgiveness will happen. People will get married. People will get divorced. People will eat too much. People will starve. People will fight climate change. People will exacerbate climate change. Immigrants will immigrate. People will blame everyone except themselves for their mistakes. People will take responsibility. The rich will get richer on the backs of the middle class and the poor. People will stand up for those without a voice. People will fight for equality. People will pray, beg, plead, and bargain for more time. People will...


So as I look at 2017 and think forward to December when everyone starts making their lists about the best of and the worst of, I wonder if we'll care so much about going through the motions and honoring traditions yet again that we'll forget that 2017 will become 2018, and nothing will reset then either. You'll still be you. I'll still be me. We'll all still have challenges. The only time we make any difference is in the actions we choose every day of our lives... 

 And, we have to decide. Each and every one of us has to decide. It is our choice. We have the power to choose. We have to decide what role we will play in society... 

 Because inaction is deadly... Because inaction condones... Because inaction speaks more loudly than we know...

T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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