Finding energy and enthusiasm for life

The end of a year and the beginning of a new one are always filled with so much warmth. For me, that is not just because I live and work in Southwest Florida, where the temperature still usually reaches 80 degrees at this time of year. (We did get some cooler days around the holidays, so don’t be too jealous if you are a reader living in a colder climate.) The warmth I am talking about is internal—emotional.

One way I experience this kind of warmth is by lighting candles during the holidays. More than simply creating ambiance, I like to do it with family, friends, or even with people I have recently met. Sharing a flame from one candle to another brings us closer together and fills our hearts with a very special relaxed feeling. Were you able to light candles like this? If not, maybe you can make it a new tradition this year.

I wish we could keep the emotional warmth of those moments going throughout the year, sort of like filling us with a lasting vim and vigor. But then it hits you—a new year is here. It seems to come so fast, like a birthday that we forgot about and we got caught unprepared.

On New Year’s Eve, we celebrate the end of one year and we welcome in a new one. Then, after a few weeks pass by, something makes us pause. We ask, where am I right now? We seem to have automatically just kept going without even catching our breath. Is that the vim and vigor that has been working? Probably not. More likely, we have been on autopilot.

One way to know the difference is by doing a self-check: Am I feeling anxious? Am I worried? Have I been on edge with people? Am I still holding onto unforgiveness? Am I showing people disrespect? Being on autopilot can keep us stuck. We have to take a pause and remember the candles—the warmth—and let that turn into the vim and vigor (strength and energy) we need to enter the new year.

This idea hit me after reading a column by Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan. She said, “And at some point, we will face the challenge of finding forgiveness and moving on.” Dragging unforgiveness into a new year guarantees it to be a bad one. But if we forgive, and when we receive forgiveness, we can move on.

I have already begun my new year with that approach, and it is life-changing. In fact, it’s like a powerful battery inside of me got recharged with vim and vigor. And I need that in 2026 because TOTI Media is celebrating 30 years of publishing this year! Reaching such a milestone is wonderful, and it has been possible only because of you, our dear subscribers, advertisers, and wonderful TOTI Media team. You each are like one of those candles, bringing warmth to our hearts.

So, to you and your family, I send my best wishes for a year filled with vim and vigor as you experience your own renewed energy and enthusiasm in 2026.

Daniela J. Jaeger

Group Publisher, TOTI Media