"Let's Go Exploring!!"

In the midst of all the things hanging on the wall in my office, there is a framed cartoon.  It’s the final cartoon from the old “Calvin & Hobbs” series, you remember, the cartoons about the boy Calvin and his imaginary tiger Hobbs.  In the cartoon, Calvin and Hobbs stand at the top of a hill overlooking a slope covered with new snow.  Calvin says he loves a new snowfall, the clean slate, the limitless possibilities.  In the final frame, Hobbs grabs a sled, grabs Calvin, and shouts “Let’s go exploring!” as they rocket down the mountainside.

That’s how I feel about January.  The thing I’ve always liked the most about January is the feeling of a new beginning.  The old year is past and the new year has begun.  A clean slate, limitless possibilities.  This year, we've all set ambitious goals for ourselves and we’ll be tested in our abilities to reach those goals.  We’ll have fun, we’ll be stressed;  excitement and boredom;  good days and bad.  But, at this point in the year, the possibilities seem endless.  

 

And remember what writer Francis Bacon once said:  “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”  So, as my old friend Hobbs said, “Let’s go exploring!”