Looking to the Future

It’s that time of year when trash cans have digested their diet of Christmas wrapping paper, and now is the time for poets to write the soothing rhymes of what we want in a perfect world.

The very idea of New Year’s Resolutions invites image of cliche beauty contests. “I wish for world peace, and ending poverty.” The artificial smile reflects the spotlights but doesn’t go very far reaching toward the heart.

I was recently asked what I wanted for Christmas. I frequently ask myself how I should answer such a question. Do you want the realistic, the top shelf dream, maybe the philosophical?

This...