As one year is behind us and another has begun, it is time to reflect on where we are and what resolve will take us to where we want to be.

Presently it seems as if we do not have much of a choice regarding our future. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band sang about “Riding Against the Wind.” Currently it seems like we are encountering a very strong head wind of unfavorable events.

Is this torrential storm of negativity similar to the next apocalypse? Are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse catching up with us? Hopefully the answer to these questions will be an emphatic no!

We should all take heart and hope that the world will strive for a universal normalcy of respect and appreciation. There is a lyric that Janis Joplin shares with us in “Me and Bobby McGee”: “But, I’d trade all of my tomorrows, for a single yesterday.” Hopefully this phrase will become a future guiding force for mankind and a return to the civility of yesterday.

This clearly is not an apocalypse nor are those infamous Horseman — War, Famine, Pestilence and Death — about to ride us down. Again, looking towards positive guidance, Beth Midler sings about the “wind beneath our wings.” Maybe this wind we are facing will indeed become uplifting and convert in to a breeze of change for a much better future.

Seattle songwriter Larry Murante provides us with one answer to the question of how we might survive this continuous negativity with a very positive verse in his song “Point of Entry”: “If you give the world outside a point of entry it’ll give back to you.”

What are we seeing and hearing in the news today? Is this really a trend or just a phase that we will eventually overcome and once again come together as a positive and productive world? It would seem that taking on more purposeful actions will help us unite more quickly as a society.

Now might be the time to look at another lyric from Murante’s song: “That’s why I keep the gates of my heart open ‘cause you never know where love might be, I leave a crack in my defenses and let the unexpected carry me.”

We should definitely leave room in our hearts and allow the world to give us the knowledge and strength to face and stabilize the events confronting us.

More importantly, we should consider the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as champions of our cause and rename the riders Peace, Bounty, Health and the leader of the pact as Life itself. Let us make this a true beginning and not an apocalyptic end. Now is the time for all of us to collectively resolve to make 2018 a year of peace, bounty, health and most importantly one where life is full of joy.

Sammamish resident Larry Crandall is a retired educator and serves on the city’s Planning Commission.