It’s the New Year. The Lunar New Year, Losar, the Tibetan New Year, Shambhala Day. It’s a fresh start. While Elephant Journal—as one of the world’s now-rare independent, mindful online communities not yet crushed by Meta, Google, Big Tech…is happily observing Blackout Day, I am going to post about the New Year. Because we need it. Today marks the end of the Don Season, a time of hardship. Today marks the beginning of the return of the sun.

The sun predates Meta. So to hell with the greed of the oligarchs, the techbros running rampant over our democratic institutions and putting half the country in a Foxish bubble, the MAGA folks taking from Medicare and Medicaid to feed another round of tax cuts for the very rich.

The sun is basic goodness, a reminder that we can wake up and be kind. Cheerful New Year. To read about the New Year on Elephant, and support mindful indie community, enjoy the video and podcast.