This year has been a blazing furnace of insanity. The world is burning, but this time we did start the trashfire—or at least we insisted on fanning the flames. Internal violence and political failures in various Middle Eastern and South American countries has ramped up, displacing more people, while Trump encouraged his administration and followers to make life hell for migrants seeking asylum in the US. The Canadian and UK elections displayed the bloated underbellies of electoral systems that died long ago but were never buried, white nationalism has continued seeping into the dark cracks of society, and through it all Putin is grinning  like an autocratic Cheshire cat. Meanwhile, we’re killing the planet so politicians and modern-day robber barons can pad their pockets.

And that’s barely even half of it.

Fortunately, the world hasn’t ended quite yet, and while we are facing a time of great change, there is also tremendous potential and hope. The world’s youth are pushing back against the societal forces driving climate change, appearing on the streets, at the UN, and in the courts to pressure governments, corporations, and individuals to seek a more sustainable future. Likewise, antifascists are pushing back against hateful ideologies that seek to divide our societies, and protestors in Hong Kong and around the world are demanding greater freedoms—and greater protections for those freedoms—from their governments.

None of this is new, of course. These sorts of events have happened many times before and will happen many times again as long as humankind persists. It’s all part of the great creation-destruction cycle of life. Still, it’s nice to know there is still something to fight for and people to fight for it.

On a personal level, I’m looking forward to a new year. Overall, 2019 was a pretty good year for me, despite some setbacks. Black Wolf finally made it to print, and I’m inching closer to having a few small sets of artwork to print and sell. There have been good friends and good times, and my darling cat is still around to keep my feet warm at night, despite some major health scares this year.

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, as I rarely keep them. However, if I had to make some, I’d say that I should write more often and get those first art prints out. I should probably also make a little more effort to drop some of the weight I picked up during an extended period of extreme stress a few years ago, but we can talk about that once I’ve finished off my Christmas chocolates.

Have a happy new year, and may 2020 leave you better than it found you.