2025 Benediction

A practice of speaking well to myself

Yesterday, I ran through Sugar House Park during a snowstorm. I was late to meet my running group, so I ran alone — no headphones, no running partner, just me. Snowflakes melted on my cheeks and I kept sticking my tongue out to catch them. I LOVE running in the snow. On my second loop of the park I remembered, “My benediction! I never wrote it”. So the last half of my run turned into listening. “What do you have to say to me this year, God?”

This is the seventh year I’ve written a New Year Benediction. I write these for myself but share them here. Maybe there’s something in here for you. Or maybe it’s a reminder that you can write your own benediction. As a reminder, in Latin bene means “well” and dicere means “to say”. A benediction is a blessing, often given at the end of a religious service when the congregants transition back to their daily lives. But no rule says they can’t be written for any transition. Writing these benedictions has become my favorite way to transition into a new season. It is a kind and gentle way to turn the calendar page.

So, here is my 2025 Benediction.

Now that you have tilled the soil and fallen in love with another new place, water the roots. Let them sink deep and get all tangled up with others. You already know a place you love enough to break your heart is worth the entanglement.

You kept your broken heart open. That’s how the joy got in. You know now that a heart cracked open from a deep love of a place and its people, then kept open, only grows in capacity to love more.

May you keep getting to know the people you love. If you are changing, so are they. Keep listening. Keep asking questions. Keep being awed by who they are becoming.

May you move when you feel stuck. Let your body work out the block. Let your mind wander without the distraction of music, books, or podcasts. They are all good teachers. But so is silence. Take yourself to the mountains. Let yourself feel small and mighty at the same time.

May you make a mess of words and faithfully clean them up. The clean-up will be imperfect, but perfection was never the point.

May you have the audacity to use joy as a counterweight to the heaviness in the world. And yet, step into the hard places. Let your heart continue to break at injustice. Listen and learn how you can help, but do not let anything steal your joy.

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If you choose to write your own benediction, let me know! When I go back to read the benedictions I wrote a few years ago, it feels like looking at old photos or reading old journals. I get a glimpse into who I was and how I’ve grown. It helps me give myself grace and be proud of who I am continuing to become.

And if you’ve read this far and take nothing else away, just remember to speak well to yourself in whatever season you are in.