It’s almost time for 2025 New Year’s resolutions, so why think about 2024’s? Because I’ve fallen way short on one of them, an important one, as it turns out.

While I’ve cooked a little more this year and added a few new dishes to the repertoire (sweet and savory granola, chicken shawarma, cucumber salad), I’ve been less successful meditating. In fact, the “meditate more” resolution is in danger of becoming one of those fond perennial hopes (“don’t worry so much”) that clog the gears of self-improvement.

But the more I think about it (don’t think!), the more I realize that stilling the mind is one of the best tools we have to living with uncertainty and doubt. All I need to do is open the newspaper every morning to understand how important it is to co-exist with uncertainty and doubt.

So what to do? Publish this post, close this machine, sit still and think about nothing. It’s a tall order, but I’d like to enter 2025 feeling a little bit better about 2024. This might help.