Dear friends,

As the year draws to a close, I've been reflecting on how we can sustain ourselves and renew the heart. So much has transpired this year: countless losses, fear and isolation alongside tremendous resilience and mass people’s movements all over the world.

Looking back, it’s easy to notice the things we regret: missed opportunities, harm caused or received, our inevitable shortcomings and human foibles. This is natural and healthy. There is something sobering and deeply enriching in holding oneself accountable.

At the same time, I notice how easy it is to dwell upon the things that haven’t gone well or that I wish were different. The heart is comfortable in the familiar terrain of “not good enough.”

To balance this tendency, I find great value in something that I believe is even harder to do: honoring our own goodness.

Are we able to step back, regard ourselves with kindness, and contemplate our good qualities? Or, do we immediately fall prey to the inner critic diminishing our gifts, chiding us to stop “being self-centered”?

If we can’t acknowledge our strengths, how will we find the inner resources to bear with the tragic losses of our times? How will we find the courage and vision to respond creatively to the constellation of crises we face?

We can’t heal without tenderness. We can’t sustain action without rest. And we can't create a more just, equitable and healthy world if we don’t bring forth the beauty that's right here in our own hearts.

So, as you look back at 2020 and set your course for the new year, I invite you: don’t overlook the goodness in your heart.

Take joy in the many small acts of kindness that dotted this year. Take comfort in the countless, ordinary moments of connection. Touch strength in the simple dignity of your living.

There is a well of such deep care and love in each of us. You don’t have to look far; it’s always been here.

As we begin a new year, may we each know and be guided by our goodness, now and always.

In kindness,

Oren

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