Perhaps 2018 could be described as a dumpster fire. Perhaps many of us are heaving a deep sigh of relief because it’s over. Perhaps we are looking toward 2019 with hope and excitement and maybe even a little dollop of trepidation.

And now it’s here and we see how politics are still being politics. Our family members are still acting the same way. The pets are still being annoying, everyone is still sick, and for some strange reason it was impossible to find donuts on New Year’s Day. It’s been less than a week and perhaps we already feel done with the year.

Perhaps, just perhaps, we’ve grown so accustomed to the bad that it’s incredibly difficult to see the good.

A new year is not going to magically be better than the last. And yet. This is the time of new hopes and dreams budding from the fertile soil of last year’s fires. This is the time to plant and grow new resolutions and goals. This is the time to belief in the delicate magic of the future, born gently forward on the pages of our new year.

This year will be a year of gratitude. 2019G’s in 2019. I challenge you, dear traveler, to join me in this new venture.

I am making a list of 2,019 things I am grateful for throughout 2019. That averages to about 5 and a half gratitudes each day, so I will be listing in my Wunderlist app 5-6 items each day of 2019.

What outlook do you desire for this year? What step can you take today to start down that path?