There have been many things that have changed, passed, and grown in 2016. Granted, this past year has been, in a way, like every other year -much like 2012 when the world was supposed to end, but look at us now! But 2016 was filled with even more confusion, distortion, and (dare I say it?) ignorance on behalf of a majority of our culture. Both political and religious views of all sorts in America seem to have been hugely flared; zealous beliefs that leave onlookers with a choice of "damned if you do, damned if you don't". From what I've seen, this tension can be boiled down to fear. Fear of change. Fear of understanding. Fear of discovery. Before I get too far ahead of myself, this article is NOT one of debating theology or politics; this is one of how we can try and dig deeper into the potential of the upcoming new year.

1. Talk to strangers.

You see them day to day, you sit next to them, heck, you literally walk into them from time to time; they are the backbone of society: other people! I grew up with a very odd habit of looking at people and wondering what they're thinking, where they're going, and what they do all without even asking them. How can you even start a conversation with a random person who probably doesn't want to talk to you? I usually wear a funny shirt so that the other party will laugh and break the ice. Or you could leave your phone in your car or at home (the horror) when you go to a public place. This allows you to start the conversation by asking what time it is and the person might feel more comfortable chatting since you went to them for help. You'd be amazed at what can come from striking up a conversation with a random person. For instance, in 2013, I went into Starbucks with a book I had just bought. Went about my normal coffee shop routine, 1. claim seat, 2. nervously try and decide what coffee I wanted to get, 3. make a decision, 4. regret that decision right before I made my order, 5. made that order anyway, 6. go back to my seat. There was a guy seated next to me who was looking at my book. Nonchalantly, he told me that it looked like a big read (Note:for reference the book was Systematic Theology by Norman L. Giesler) and after I laughed at the comment, we ended up talking for about an hour. One of his friends came in and I was introduced to him. Little did I know that I would become best friends with them that year, go on a mission trip to Africa with them the next year, and move in with them two years after. Adventure is only one conversation away.

2. Wear their shoes.

Inside your mind is a wealth of knowledge, experience, philosophy, pain, joy, and everything that makes your life your own. Now, imagine for a moment that you aren't the only person in the universe. In Beaumont, Texas alone, we have a population of roughly 118,296 people. That is 118,296 minds filled with as much life as yours just in this one city! That's quite a bit of perspective roaming around. In the midst of flared beliefs in a country, the best solution is discussion, not debate. We have so many opportunities to try and calm the waters of our culture, and they all begin with talking to one another as mature people. Who's to say that every person you encounter isn't dying to be heard on a subject of interest? I'm not trying to preach like all the techy-nay-sayers, but as much benefit as we get from technology, nothing quite competes to putting down your phone and starting a conversation with a person. I don't say this to say that we've been dumbed down to robotic people who have a cord coming out of their noses that connect to phones, I'm trying to emphasize that online discussion isn't always pretty due to lack of emotion in the texts. You can't hear a person's pain in their voice when they speak about the atrocities of certain religions, or the fear when they bring up politics.

3. Eat their food.

Yeah, yeah we've all eaten Indian food, or at least something with curry in it, at least once or twice in our lives. This isn't going to be a "You Hate The World If You Only Eat Fast Food" paragraph. Heck, I had a Munchie Meal from Jack In the Box last night and it was a guilty pleasure meal. We tend to overlook the simple courtesy of a shared meal. We look at someone and doubt their cooking skills when they invite us out to their homes for dinner, yet we watch one episode of Iron Chef and we've become Gordon Ramsay. Words I like to live by are these: My favorite meal is a free one, and my second favorite is a cooked one. This isn't a statement on living as a minimalist, but a statement on how accepting we need to be when somebody offers us food that they put joy and effort into just to quench your appetite. But you don't get let off that easy. Food has two purposes: first to be shared, second to be eaten. On the other side of kindness, we have to be prepared to give more than we expect to give. Whether it may be preparing a meal for someone, taking someone out for lunch/dinner, or even ordering extra food in case a person came up to you and asked for food.

365 days are a lot of opportunities to not do what you've already done in the past 365 days. The approaching of a new year is the best time to plan new beginnings. This is a chance to restart, not repeat.