Chinese New year | Nine Cent Girl

This week, across the globe, citizens are coming together with eyes on Italy. Not to argue politics or report disasters but to celebrate Olympians, who, despite odds, are showing what is possible on snow and ice, in wind and storm, with or without cheering crowds.

American’s are stealing our hearts not only by grabbing the gold, but through their dignity in defeat. After her horrendous fall, the skier Lindsey Vonn, told us she has “no regrets” and goes further to remind us “the only failure in life is not trying.” After his free skate Ilia Malinin acknowledged he “blew” it, but added, “You learn more from failure than you do from winning.” Their courage inspires the whole of us.

Oh, how we need this coming together. The six rings form into one fabulous symbol to remind each one of us what resilience and passion looks like. What camaraderie looks like. What hope looks like. What global unity looks like. And it’s joyous to watch!

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2025 ushers in the Year of the Wood Snake, providing us with the opportunity to shed the old and embrace the new. The Economic Times tells us “Snakes are traditionally seen as wise, strategic, and mysterious.” Personally, I can’t think of a better time to open the way for wisdom and sensibility. Hate is running hot these day, as is fear and anxiety. Regardless of your past voting record or lack of one, the avalanche of recent executive orders was probably enough to fray anyone’s last nerve. If like me, you are part of that most vile group, ‘the intellectual elite’, or you just lean towards humanitarianism, you are desperate for a full breath of untainted honesty, a quality not currently found in the White House, so, holding this image of “the Snake shedding its skin, representing the opportunity to renew oneself, embrace new possibilities, and leave behind outdated ways” might be the only way forward. (Economic Times)