10 Things to Remember as a New Year Begins

(This is not an AI-related post, but certainly more valuable!)

Jan 02, 2026

Some of these items I’ve composed, others I’ve collected over the months, and others I’ve found this week on the occasion of the new year. All of them are happy in a way; when life tries its hardest at reminding us that it is implacable, our best response is to have someone else remind us that there are also good things. More than a list of New Year’s resolutions, this is a list of Life’s resolutions. Happy New Year, all the same!

C. S. Lewis on a happy home as the goal of life

Henri Matisse paints the joy of life

*Le Bonheur de Vivre (the Joy of Life) by Henri Matisse, 1905-1906*

Ralph Waldo Emerson on living every day fully

*The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson*

Life always finds a way (Fox cubs playing in a graveyard)

Manuel Vincent on keeping life timeless

*El tiempo by Manuel Vincent (you can ask an LLM to transcribe and translate this)*

Vincent Van Gogh on painting the blank canvas of life

*Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888 / The essential letters of Vincent Van Gogh*

An 80-year-old reflects on what life is like at 32

(Source: Shellie Edington)

Henry David Thoreau on loving your life

Puede ser una imagen de texto que dice "However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault- fault-finder finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poor-house. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring." — *Walden by Henry David Thoreau*

Tim Urban on your open life paths

Imagen — *Source: Tim Urban (Wait But Why)*

Alberto Romero (me) on how to see life anew

*The Sun by Edvard Munch, 1909 / How to Want Things Again by Alberto Romero*

Share this post with someone who wants to feel the joy of life again in 2026

Beth Rudden

I love the 80 year old reflection read aloud, the reading of it reminds me of the ache I felt holding my children, knowing that I must absorb every moment and that the luxury of being present is so very precious.

"May distinct things happen to you, like when you were a child." Beautiful reminder from Manuel Vincent

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