Things have changed for me in this season of gifts and wishes. I no longer wish for a bicycle, something electronic, or a new car or camera – not that I wouldn’t enjoy them.
Nowadays, I wish we had a government oriented to meeting the individual and collective needs of every resident on this land, and contributes to the global well-being of our neighbors in the world.
I wish we had a president who knew something other than how to gain attention, accrue power, and profit, and knew something about humanity, culture, civics, our constitution, about truth and poetry.
I wish we had a competent person heading Health and Human Services who knew something about research and who could integrate the methods of “scientific” medicine and other traditions of health, healing, and well-being – not just a cog in a political machine of disruption.
I wish we had a secretary of education that knew something about education and had a goal of improving its functioning – not just reducing it to a cash cow for profiteers and religious propaganda.
I wish we had someone at the head of consumer protection actually devoted to the protection of the consumer, rather than the exploitation of consumers by corporations.
I wish we had a justice system that was just, that supported the idea of justice unrelated to status, wealth, ethnicity, race; a just system that reflects the ideal of liberty and justice for all.
I wish we had media that give us something other than one-dimensional heroes with violent and destructive pseudo solutions to life’s problems and, instead, offered models of wholeness, growth, construction, and triumph over human foibles. There’d be fewer explosions and more revelations, less heat and more light.
I wish we had more religions that could integrate their ideologies with the world we face today, not for the glories of individual advantage, development, wealth, or salvation, but for service and the recognition of how each one of us is embedded with the greater world and what harms one of us hurts all of us.
I wish we had a non-toxic economic system that incentivized innovation, entrepreneurship and the well-being of individuals and communities.
I wish we had a society that values truth, kindness, taking care of us and our neighbors; a society that expects much from those who have been given much.
And finally, I wish for more poetry, more truth-telling, more grass-roots music and more books.
I can echo all of those wishes and add that I wish we all learned how to be kind to those less fortunate, more forgiving, and more humane. I wish that we could embrace each other and find wonder and curiosity about our differences learning tolerance and how to coexist in peace. Here’s to hoping 2026 will bring us at least a few of those wishes.
Agreed. Beautifully put, Nora.
I love all of the meaningful wishes, hope they come true and that many more add their own.
I wish I could wake up in a world that encourages children to be themselves, and not feel they have to become what others think they should be,
For us to be kind and work toward recognizing the
needs of others, especially those who haven’t had the advantages or opportunities many of us have had,
To have great leaders that we can look up to and know they aren’t just considering their own selfish desires,
And to always have someone special be part of your life that makes you feel loved no matter who you are and what kind of day you are having.
These are beautiful. Thanks for adding them.
I wish your wishes would come true. I wish I could hug you, no, hold on to you as you are steady in the storm. I wish you well, good cheer, and beauty in a chaotic human world.
Thank you so much, Donna. I welcome the hug.
Amen. I’ll second your wishes.
All in favor. . .
I wish you could have your wishes!
Thanks, Zoe.