2026 on the Brain

How’s everyone doing as we approach 2026?

I hadn’t given the new year much thought until last week when I came across notes I jotted down as the millennial year 2000 headed our way.

At that time, I had questions about facing such a monumental event. What were our ancestors doing as they anticipated the approach of the year 1900? What were they facing? Did they accept or reject electricity, telephones and the advent of talking pictures? Were they thinking about their futures or contemplating the world’s destruction? Were they excited about all the possibilities that lay before them? Or were they confused, bewildered, lost, concerned, and consumed with worry and fear?

Rereading my list from that time, I couldn’t help but notice how the “flavor” of my questions seems relevant today. Of course, today, electricity and telephones are as common as inside toilets and we all take movies with sound for granted. However, if we replace those once considered far-fetched inventions with AI, social media, and taxis that drive themselves, most of us are currently feeling the same type of wariness, mistrust, and anxiety we humans experience when faced with the unfamiliar.

When the year 2000 came into view, fear and panic took over. We received warnings about power failures, the destruction of computer systems, and the general mayhem that would occur at midnight. Change can bring out the worst in us hand-wringers. But that’s our collective dilemma with the unknown as it creates a chasm of uncertainty for many of us that we fill with fear.

My sister and I, at ages 9 and 7, wondered what we’d be doing in 2000. My sister would be married with kids. I had no clue. That future, so far off, was a mystery. There were no concrete answers for what I’d be up to, which brought a frightening element. I couldn’t even imagine still being alive.

But what if I could accept the curious nature of the unknown instead of worrying because I had no answers? Isn’t questioning a good thing? Don’t questions leave room for discovery? Doesn’t curiosity fuel creativity? Aren’t there opportunities that reveal themselves when we are looking for answers. A friend of mine thought so as we approached the year 2000. I remember him telling me that this great mark in time could spur people on to do things they’d been putting off, or think about things in a different way. I liked his positive spin, but I don’t remember many others feeling the way he did.

Pulling against the fray of negative thought patterns has never been easy for me, but history has shown that those who do pull away from fear, worry, and pessimism display a tremendous amount of courage, creativity, along with a drive to live healthier and happier. The choices they make concerning their actions, thoughts, and beliefs affect their positive outlook.

On a grand scale, the complex and amazing ability we individually have to make choices and decisions is our grace. What motivates us can spur us onto greatness or destroy us.

I know my own pessimistic thoughts block choices that are more in line with how I’d rather live. And certainly, the inability to change my own internal sabotaging dialogue produces stress, unhappiness, and frustration which more than likely adds to the collective disharmony I witness. Therefore, being motivated by fear can’t be my only option.

With January breathing down my neck, I’m once again thinking about the changes I want to make so I can make better choices. On December 31st, regardless of what I’m doing, because sometimes I’m with friends, other years it’s just Johnny and me at home, I have committed to some thoughtful prayer. At the stroke of midnight, I’ll raise a glass to ask for clarity. I am going to pray to remain mindful as to whether the unknown is fraught with fear or offers hope.

Life throws us curveballs, complications, and there is always uncertainty, but curiosity is what I want to hold onto. So, when I raise that glass as I bring in the New Year, I’ll cast worry aside, replace it with the wonder of what’s to come, and thank my lucky stars that I’m still here.

Still searching for that meaningful holiday gift? Maybe this interview with CJ Moneyway will inspire you to pick up a copy of “Guidance from the Universe.” Our conversation proved to be thought-provoking, relevant to today’s issues, and fun! Can’t forget about the fun.