I stumbled across my horoscope today, and by “stumbled” I mean that I intentionally sought it out.

Rarely do I keep up on such things, but it seemed like a good idea. Perhaps some light would be shed on why I seem to always get sick around the new year, or I’d get some clarity on why my head is so fuzzy lately — aside from my OTC cold medicine, that is.

“Your ideals are driving you to take risks and make the world a better place,” it said.

Hm.

I’m not much of a risk-taker on the surface, but I do make some questionable (as judged by others) decisions that are in line with where my heart and head wish to go, so by virtue of that…I’m at least making the world a better place for myself, yes?

The thing about each new year, aside from the usual laundry list of resolutions which will largely be erased and bleached to oblivion by February, is that the new year simply implies a fresh start. It doesn’t have to be something new that we begin on January 1, but instead it can be something existing that we vow to fine-tune, to get to the bottom of, to dust off and make shiny again.

With a new year can come the revisiting of the old, and any revisiting that’s done in the spirit of improvement does make the world a better place. And since starting with one person — me, or you — is in fact a way to make a lasting change, I am thankful and hopeful that our risks, large or small as they might be, will certainly lead to a better world…if not immediately for the masses, then for each of us on a smaller scale.

Baby steps.