As we begin the early pathway of a new year, wisdom suggests walking easy, taking each step at a time. 2026, like every new year, brings an invitation to begin again. The biggest challenge in life is to live in the present moment, to breathe in the here and now, to be grounded in the present reality. How many of us carry burdens belonging to past years? too many faces a new year filled with anxiety about what might happen and unfortunately far too few can breathe easily in the here and now. To live in the present moment, is both gift and blessing and perhaps the most challenging and beneficial resolution as we begin 2026. The great prayer of Saint Padre Pio very beneficial this time of year. “By past life I give to your mercy O Lord, tomorrow I hand into your Providence, today let me live in your love”
Random tales of wisdom…Sleep When the Wind Blows
How do you handle adversity? What are you thinking when the sun goes down on those cold, windy nights, when you’re trying to get to sleep, and the wind keeps swirling and howling through your bedroom windows?
Sleep Soundly When the Wind Blows
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.
“Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him.
“Well I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him.
The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters.
He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot.
Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured.
Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
Can you sleep when the wind blows? When you’re prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear.
A CAT GOES TO HEAVEN
A cat dies and goes to Heaven. God meets him at the gate and says, ‘you have been a good cat all of these years. Anything you desire is yours, all you have to do is ask.’ The cat says, ‘Well, I lived all my life with a poor family on a farm and had to sleep on hardwood floors.’ God says, ‘Say no more.’ And instantly, a fluffy pillow appears.
A few days later,6 mice are killed in a tragic accident and they go to Heaven. God meets them at the gate with the same offer that He made the cat. The mice said, ‘All our lives we’ve had to run. Cats, dogs and even women with brooms have chased us. If we could only have a pair of roller skates, we wouldn’t have to run anymore.’ God says, ‘Say no more.’ And instantly, each mouse is fitted with a beautiful pair of tiny roller skates.
About a week later, God decides to check and see how the cat is doing. The cat is sound asleep on his new pillow. God gently wakes him and asks, ‘How are you doing? Are you happy here?’ The cat yawns and stretches and says, ‘OH, I’ve never been happier in my life. And those Meals on Wheels you’ve been sending over are the best!
A prayer to help live in the present moment for 2026
Slow Me Down Lord
Slow me down, Lord.
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations—of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend,
to pat a dog,
to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise,
that I may know that the race is not always to the swift—
that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak
and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Amen.