The new year arrived with the promise of new beginnings, an interesting sense of curiosity and… a little bit of anxiety to experience what would come next.

I must confess that I normally don’t believe in the magic of the New Year. It’s because, logically speaking, we are just crossing one of the multiple imaginary lines in our lives. Just like borders dividing countries or parallels and meridians slicing the globe into cubes. We increment the year counter by 1 and then we are magically granted a boost to restart. When we put things this way, this all sounds a bit too unreasonable.

This year, though, it all felt a bit different. This time, the New Year really felt like a restart. Many things were left behind, with or without my consent, sometimes even without my awareness. I saw my life turn upside down, and then flip around before spinning uncontrollably. What I believed to be solid terrain proved to be as unstable as quicksand. It sounds terrible, I know, but it was a great year. And, hey, I survived. We all did.

I watched broken bridges be rebuilt and, for a glimpse of time, I saw myself reunited with people I hadn’t seen in a while. It was so nostalgic it made me unsure whether I had traveled back in time or if that was just a sweet dream.

There was so much loss, but also so much gain.

I chuckle. “It’s all about balance”, they say. I have to agree on this one.

As we advance to the second quarter of this new year, the year doesn’t feel like new anymore. But the magic is still here. The path in front of me is earthy and rustic but well-lit. The sunlight stubbornly dodges the leaves of the trees ahead making the scene so warm and cozy. The horizon is a bit cloudy, but clear enough for me to be able to guess what’s waiting for me on the other side.

And for a while – man, it’s been a while – I truly smile. Not a halfway half-assed smile. A big bright one.

Because am finally heading towards where I want to be.

And for that, my friend, I couldn’t be happier.

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