This Coming Year

[Beautiful Future - XI]

This coming year will be different.
Not because it’s a different number or merely ahead of us.
Not because the vaccine is available and we have a new president.

The new year will be different because you have changed.
Your view on this.
Your take on that.
Your opinions about them.
Your desires for us.

There's more . . .
Your heart is bigger.
Your patience is longer.
Your impulses are tempered.
Your hope is more inclusive.

And even more . . .
You've let yourself feel.
You’ve grieved.
You’ve slowed down.
You’ve loved and been loved.

Friends, you have struggled, even suffered. We have struggled.

Next year will be different because we’ve changed . . . for the better.