The last few moments of 2018 are here. Soon we’ll close the book on the past 365 days. And with any story or ending, it’s in our nature to pause, to give space to make sense of everything we’ve faced. We might struggle to balance all of the heavy we carried and the light we celebrated throughout the year, but there’s also something inspiring about approaching a new chapter that has yet to be written. It can feel like a fresh start, a clean slate for us to create and grow.
That’s why the #WelcometoMidnight conversation has become something we look forward to at TWLOHA. And we know many of you love this moment for the same reason. We hope you’ll join us as we say farewell to 2018 and welcome 2019 with new hopes by being part of the conversation online, wearing the shirt, and reading the blog by TWLOHA founder Jamie Tworkowski that started it all:
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
The ball drops and fireworks. Resolutions are made.
People scream and people kiss and is it possible to change?
Is it really truly possible to leave the past behind?
Welcome to Midnight.
Another year comes to a close. Another year begins.
With a moment in between.
Why the fuss?
Why the fame and fireworks?
Is it more than hype? More than something else to sell us?
Is there something to this holiday? Something true inside it?
Because isn’t there something inside us that aches for change…
Dreams it to be possible…
To let go.
To hold on.
To leave it behind.
To start again.
To be new.
Is it possible?
If you’re reading this, if there’s air in your lungs, then you’re alive today tonight right now.
And who can know how long we have here…
And is it a gift? Was it ever a gift? Did that ever feel true or could that one day feel true?
Are there things to fight to live for?
Moments and people. Weddings and children and all your different dreams.
Love.
Is your life more than just your own?
And are there broken things you were made to fight to fix?
Broken families, broken friends… Injustice.
Will you move for things that matter?
Wouldn’t it be nice if change took just a moment?
Wouldn’t it be nice if it were that easy?
Midnight and we’re new. Midnight and the past erased. Midnight and we’re free.
It seems to come slow. It seems to be a surgery.
Forgiveness. Healing. Sobriety. Letting go. Starting over.
It seems to happen slowly over time.
One day at a time, the choice made new each morning.
Will you fight?
Will you fight to be healthy?
Will you fight to be free?
Will you fight for your story?
Will you fight to get the help you need?
Change takes more than a moment, but maybe there’s also something to this celebration of a moment, something to the way it speaks to us, something to the way we fear it, and dream it to be true. Maybe it’s the most honest moment of the year.
It’s possible to change.
Welcome to Midnight.
Here’s to the possibilities.
Peace to You.
jamie
p.s. – What do you hope to leave behind in 2018? What do you hope to find in 2019? Join the conversation at #WelcometoMidnight on Twitter and Instagram.
Order your Welcome to Midnight shirt or sweatshirt here.
Kathy Cooper
I want to leave behind the feeling of great sadness that I feel each time I think of our dog and having to put her sleep. I want to move on to the happy memories of her and not be sad
Terry Freeman
By now, we know what 2018 has given to us. 2019 is the hope that good changes will occur in all facets of our lives. No one wants bad changes although that certainly happens and will happen. I don’t worry about God being with me because I believe he always is, but in his love of us he has given us the ability to make our own choices and that is where our journey can change for the better or worse. In failure we can gain absolute knowledge that leads to a new and positive beginning, or a knowledge of repeated demise. Again a different choice we make. Being healthy and free are without question the basis of happiness but a person needs to be a fighter in order to keep these qualities around them and those they love! Midnight is important just as the dawn of a new day and the sunset is again. Faith seems to bring all of these together and keeps me within a balance of freedom, health and healing! Thanks Midnight for allowing me to have a new dawn!
Lexie Wilson
The beginnings of 2018 looked hopeless. Mid March, I attended Heavy and Light, still so lost and empty. I met a handful of TWLOHA staff and interns. I had so many incredible connections, and I left feeling changed. I knew something was coming. I had a medical scare a week later, an event that went on to change my spiraling path down a dark hole. I moved several states away from my hometown. I started over. I made great changes. I am now stepping out of my comfort zone day after day. I’m doing things that scare me. I’m challenging myself to get better and stay better and live through many more midnights. Thank you Jamie and everyone at TWLOHA for changing my life and reminding me to live.. year after year.. depression after depression.. rock bottom after rock bottom. Here’s to starting 2019 off alone.. with myself, someone I’m growing to love and rely on.