January. A lot is going on!

First, it’s the new year and then we must remember to change the year on all our dates, and if you’re anything like me, you spend the whole month writing down “2024” instead of “2025.”

This year, 2025, Martin Luther King Day and the 2025 presidential inauguration will fall on the same day. I suspect many people in our compassion orbit will consider MLK day and Inauguration Day 2025 as ironic, juxtaposed, polar opposites.

Sigh!

The fires in California are not helping, and the snow in Atlanta this January was not indicative of Hotlanta! And the beloved Patron Saint of Georgia – Jimmy Carter, made his transition as well, even though he was 100!

So much. Too much.

So, what do we do with all this angst?

May I dare suggest that we lean on some MLK wisdom?

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 
“Don’t ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn.”

Such beautiful poignant language.

I know, right? Compassion has us “standing at midnight.”

Our midnight right now, the darkness itself, may be hate by a person or persons; it may be something that pushes us to profound grief such as the fires in California. And it may even be anxiety about our future given the state of the world.

We just do not have control over most of these things.

However, the MLK quote also reminds us that we are “on the threshold of a new dawn.”

It means HOPE, friends.

We will master the new date. The fires will die down. The new administration will enter into office. And Truth with a capital “T” will continue to stand. The Truth of Compassion, that we need each other, will continue to stand.

What we do have control over is the ability to choose how we respond to a stimulus.

What is “out there” may not be what we want, but we will not let it change us.

We will continue to choose compassion over hate. We will continue to advocate for compassion. We will continue to love each other even when it feels like the hardest thing in the world to do. We will continue to listen with empathy. And, we will continue to practice self-compassion as often as possible, even if it means that we practice it every minute of every day.

Self-compassion is our self-preservation.

So please, use January 20th as a day to hope, serve, and even rest.

We infuse our hope with a collective imagined future where we are all healthy and thriving; where compassion becomes the norm as a way of life; and where we make changes in enough volume to save our planet from the ravages of fire and ice.

Please dream this beautiful dream with us.

O yeah, and may you have a Happy and Peaceful New Year, and may Compassion be our word of the year for 2025.

Annnddddd…… Today, January 15th, is MLK’s actual birthdate. Happy Birthday, Ancestor!

Iyabo and Leanne
Co-Directors
Compassionate Atlanta