Twenty years ago, I visited a dear friend who lives in Fiji. I brought my then girlfriend, Tracey, and we celebrated New Year’s 2004. We hiked and swam, enjoyed a local church service, and left marveling at the beauty of the land and the goodness of the people. Cut ahead two decades: Tracey and I have returned to Fiji with our four kids to bring in New Year’s 2024. The country and its people are as beautiful as ever, my friend is now married with a family of his own, and last night, after a hike and a swim, we brought in the New Year at the same village we visited two decades ago! What an experience and such a powerful reminder of how quickly the days fly by.

In that spirit, here are my New Year’s resolutions for 2024: I will distract myself less with the inconsequential, find more joy in the simple, give more of my heart without expectation, and work harder to celebrate those I have differences with because A: life’s too short, and B: what the hell do I know?

Sending much New Year’s love to you all —

Shaun