Stephen Metcalfe

Ready? Set? Here we go.
A new quarter.
Meaning on January 1, 2026, the day after tomorrow, it will be the beginning of a brand-new quarter century. Another twenty-five-brand new years. I must admit, I look back at the last twenty-five, and I tremble a bit. Seemingly never-ending foreign conflicts, overwhelming advances in technology starting with cell phones and then expanding into a culturally dominant internet, and a now burgeoning Ai. The Panic of 2008, a worldwide financial crisis that was centered in the United States. MAGA, an invaded congress and Covid in no particular order. An ever-insane middle east. An ever-insane Russia. And then, in this last year, 2025, the return of the Trumpster. Tariffs, immigration obscenities, ICE agents on city streets, a torn down white house and a new look at me, look at me name on the Kennedy Center wall. Did I mention that the cost of living seems to be through the roof? Affordable? What’s that? No wonder recent data shows that nearly 20% of Americans are experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Reflecting on all this, I can’t help but wonder what the next twenty-five years will bring. The anticipation is daunting, as the world seems on the cusp of yet another transformative era.
And yet two silly phrases come to mind. Silly. A good antidote for so many things. First – It is what it is. Meaning the majority of us have all hopefully been doing the very best we can, for ourselves and for one another and for better or worse, this is where we now find ourselves, nothing we can do to change the given moment. And second – Whatever will be, will be. Meaning, we’ll all hopefully continue to do our very best for ourselves and for one other but who’s to exactly say where we’ll end up. The future’s not ours to see.
Doing our very best. For ourselves and for one another. One can only hope.