I know, another one of my obtuse sounding titles; but they are related. I did a downtown art walking tour my first winter in Boston. I constantly broke into a sprint to keep up with the group. You see, I’d wait for the little white man to appear before I’d cross the street. Someone noticed and said to me, “it’s ok, we jay walk in Boston.”
My first summer in California often, I’d be in a store in downtown Walnut Creek and there’s be the whoop whoop of a police siren. Someone was ticketed for jaywalking. The traffic reports in San Francisco repeated daily “…a pedestrian has been struck.” Hence, because of money or safety and because I tend to follow rules, I did not jaywalk.
Boston, not so much.1 I adjusted. A habit that once served me was no longer helpful. Thanks to a stranger I could not thank. At the neighborhood cleanup this past spring I had an opportunity to thank and connect with the Boston sage of good guidance. Which takes this adventure to New Years Eve invitation from the Sage.
The best New Years ever. Spectacular view of fireworks, a couple of hours with chill people and a most excellent host. There was champagne of course and a hot chocolate round to warm up from the fireworks viewed from a 17th floor balcony. This is the time when many people make resolutions. Consider, the same you will get the results. You will have to be a different you to get different results. Period. Think of a child proof home for safety. It’s obvious; the measures that keep an infant and toddler safe do virtually nothing for a teenager. How do you tell if it’s time for a change or dare I say a resolution? That’s easy, are you happy?
That’s only part one, part two is your willingness to change because that requires you let go of some belief. Marie Kondo famously wrote and advocated for tidiness and organization. She built an entire empire on teaching organization and the products to support the effort along with a TV show. The words, “does this item spark joy,” became part of the lexicon.
Then something happened. Marie had children. After her third child, tidiness didn’t work.2 She had to let go a belief around tidiness and organization and she reports she is happier. This was major. She had products, a tv show, books, an empire as they say. Then there was a new environment. Rather than make a judgement of good or bad, she embraced who she was. Marie Kondo had the “willingness” to embrace the new, and change. Her what “sparks joy” transformed into “what brings happiness?”
January 4, 2026
Rather than a virtue statement, around self judgement as to who and what you should be, consider your happiness and willingness to change for any resolution. Happy New Year.
1Fines in California are $197 for the first occurrence of jaywalking. In Boston, jaywalking fine are $1 fine for the first 3 times and goes up to $4 for the fourth time. In 2024, New York City eliminated their $250 fine for jaywalking,
2
Kondo’s latest book, Marie Kondo Kurashi at Home: How to Organise Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life, centres on the Japanese concept of kurashi, meaning “way of life”. Since becoming a mother to three children, she said her way of life had changed and her focus had shifted from organisation to drawing on simple ways to bring happiness to everyday things.
“I have kind of given up on that, in a good way for me,” she said. “Now I realise what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.”
In the book, she writes: “Tidying up means dealing with all the ‘things’ in your life.” For Kondo, this means evaluating how you order your life and creating your own rhythm based on what fills you with joy.
“Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she said, through an interpreter during an online webinar.
Queen of clean Marie Kondo says she has ‘kind of given up’ on tidying at home
Balancing on Unstable Surfaces 