Happy New Year!
[dropcap letter=”W”]hile the world woke up this year to cultural significance, political uncertainty, artistic achievement, and tenacious innovation, we also were confronted with one very big truth: LIFE IS UNCERTAIN.Pick the day. Enjoy it – to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come… The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present – and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.
– Audrey Hepburn
We said goodbye to more talent than I think anyone was prepared for. We lost the young, the old, the brave, the outspoken, the funny, the kind, the brilliant and the compassionate. Whether the loss presented itself in celebrities or family or friends or strangers, we all were reminded that every moment we are given must be beautifully lived.
While we have written about some rather exquisite places, devoured some miraculous cuisine, tasted libations and wine that told stories that will forever unravel, we also interviewed those who continue making this world a far more colorful, tolerable and more wonderful place.
We attended art shows, traveled abroad, talked to new strangers, made lifelong friends and decided that this world was simply breathtaking in every way.
It’s true that some tragic and awful things happened and they are no less important than the wonderful, happier things but we’re not ones to take part in the worry or negativity or uncertainty. Rather than see the sadness as burdensome, we see the sadness as a gentle reminder to find joy whenever possible – to feel purely without restraint. We are reminded to breathe a little deeper and love a little longer. To taste the passion rather than inhale the bite.
As the year finds itself bidding adieu to us all, we have a new 365 days facing us. Those days can be spent in regret or fear OR they can be met with hope and tenacity, courage and determination.
This year we wanted to wish all of you a year ahead of accomplishments – the kind you create and accept and embody. We want to wish you happiness – the kind you envelop and are instrumental in giving and receiving. We want to wish you love – the kind that is non-judgmental and beautiful and real and sees no color, nor boundary, nor cause any pain. We wish you adventure – to see the places you’ve never seen, met those you only dreamed of meeting, to challenge yourself to experience something new and exciting, and to seize every day with a newfound sense of wonder and curiosity.
In other words, as this year ends and a new one begins we wanted to wish you the most profoundly impactful New Year and say, with all of our hearts, thank you. Thank you for giving us the platform for creativity and storytelling so that we can share the big, bold, extraordinary things we’ve seen with each and every one of you.
