As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
—Henry David Thoreau
More than sixty of you shared your wishes with us last month on Bernheim’s Wishing Trees. We’d like to thank you for opening your hearts and sharing them with us.
Reading them was poignant and moving. There were, of course, many who wished for an end to the pandemic. Others hoped for an end to racial injustice or for a solution to climate change. And still others wished for something as intimate and personal as another child, a spouse, a dog or a new friend. It was impossible not to feel the heartbreak of the person who wished that a son would be able to return home for good, or the pain of one who wished for a friend to heal mentally and physically.
But along with the sorrow, there was also a powerful current of hope and faith for a better year to come. “My wish for 2021 is to show myself the love I give to others,” wrote one visitor. “To celebrate where I have come from and to accept the journey to where I am going. I want to open my heart more to others. 2021, here I come!”
Enjoy the above recording of some of our team reading your wishes – enjoy, and may 2021 be for all of us the year we remember as one of optimism, resilience, prosperity, health and empathy for us all. May this be the year we understand one another better, show tenderness for the weakest among us, and become better stewards of our planet. May we all walk that path together.
