{"id":18587,"date":"2023-12-30T15:51:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T20:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/?p=18587"},"modified":"2023-12-30T16:01:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T21:01:24","slug":"happy-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2023\/12\/happy-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy 2024!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>2023 has been a challenge. Now, with one day left, this difficult year is heading off into oblivion, to join up with the last few years before it, into an unpleasant haze of remembrance. The mostly dreary or forgotten days, punctuated by moments of great joy and hope, gratitude has been the glue that kept my world together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grateful. For the little, but important things. I am grateful for my family, and all of you guys, and for the good fortune to be here now. THIS Now.<br><br>The past and future only exist in our minds. They are not real, unless we give them the power to exist. The future does not arrive, it is created in the present tense. We choose our future by how we live NOW. <br><br>I choose a future forged of Gratitude, Hope, Kindness, and Love. Because I don&#8217;t want to see a future spawned of fear, hate, and greed. The present is evidence enough for me.<br><br>I think 2024 will matter. We can and must decide to put hate aside. #CancelHate. There&#8217;s NOTHING wrong with a culture that seeks to reject the mistakes of the past. Boycotting things that harm us isn&#8217;t a political plot, it&#8217;s just common sense. #CancelCulture is a buzz word used by politicians to divide us. Don&#8217;t buy the bull shit.<br><br>Instead, I hope we all begin to remember what it means to be hopeful again. Remember that being kind is more important than being rich. That someone who is different is an opportunity for growth, not someone to fear or hate. Being with people who are different from us is how we grow and learn. <br><br>We can decide to be better. Otherwise the haters win, and shit gets ugly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Share if you agree. Or don&#8217;t. I&#8217;m not the boss of you. Peace.<br><br>Happy 2024! <br>~<br>May the future rise to meet your hopes<br>Your fears be on the run<br>May we meet again in better times<br>On this trip around the sun<br>May your life be filled with bigger joys<br>And sadness far from home<br>May the past forgive and heal your soul<br>On whatever roads you roam.<br>~<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"644\" data-attachment-id=\"17667\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2019\/11\/retiring-coal-and-how-to-make-it-work\/painnt_1908112029287919661091583063099\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/painnt_1908112029287919661091583063099.jpg?fit=700%2C644&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"700,644\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"painnt_1908112029287919661091583063099.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/painnt_1908112029287919661091583063099.jpg?fit=700%2C644&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/painnt_1908112029287919661091583063099.jpg?fit=700%2C644&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/painnt_1908112029287919661091583063099.jpg?resize=700%2C644&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17667\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2023 has been a challenge. Now, with one day left, this difficult year is heading off into oblivion, to join up with the last few years before it, into an unpleasant haze of remembrance. The mostly dreary or forgotten days, punctuated by moments of great joy and hope, gratitude has been the glue that kept [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[582,587,588,690,753],"tags":[766,767,710,96,607,594,595,691,754,751,523],"class_list":["post-18587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","hentry","category-blog-2","category-moregray","category-myopinion","category-n0h8","category-newyear","tag-cancelculture","tag-cancelhate","tag-happynewyear","tag-jamiegray","tag-justthinking","tag-moregray","tag-myopinion","tag-n0h8","tag-newyear","tag-poem","tag-blog","post_format-post-format-image"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18373,"url":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2022\/02\/stopthewar\/","url_meta":{"origin":18587,"position":0},"title":"#StopTheWar","date":"February 25, 2022","format":"image","excerpt":"Putin ordered a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a clear violation of international law I support the Ukranian people, and their right for their votes to decide their own future. #FuckPutin and the horse the shirtless war pig rode in on. ~jg Ukrainian troops on alert #RussiaOutOfUkraine #IStandWithUkraine Authors Note: All\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;#blog&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1645839734919.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18490,"url":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2022\/10\/democracy-matters\/","url_meta":{"origin":18587,"position":1},"title":"Democracy Matters.","date":"October 9, 2022","format":"image","excerpt":"They say your vote matters. This year it really may. Across the country, election deniers are running for offices that can affect the outcome of future elections. If they are elected, they could change the results of elections, despite the will of the voters. It's clear they are willing to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;#BlackLivesMatter&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d44de044562105699464645241.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18336,"url":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2021\/12\/today-is-the-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":18587,"position":2},"title":"Today is The Day&#8230;","date":"December 27, 2021","format":"image","excerpt":"Today is the day, they say That you worried about yesterday, they say I say, Yesterday would have been Better without all that fretting That worry that counted for nothing But clouding the state of your mind From the happiness and joy You could've created Instead of the stress All\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;#blog&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/painnt_1908112033022926978875995505195.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18634,"url":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2024\/10\/oops\/","url_meta":{"origin":18587,"position":3},"title":"Oops","date":"October 18, 2024","format":"image","excerpt":"It probably wasn't what I said. Most likely the Nazi flag got it pulled from TikTok. Now just imagine George Carlin talking about Stupid People, and the slideshow below, give or take, and you'll get the post. Nobody can censor me here. Removed! Oops. A badge I'd gladly wear. Hahaha\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;#blog&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/screenshot_20241018_164534_tiktok5660283677041512534.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18487,"url":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2022\/10\/two-kinds-of-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":18587,"position":4},"title":"Two Kinds of People&#8230;","date":"October 8, 2022","format":"image","excerpt":"There are only two kinds of people in this world: People who want to live their lives by their own rules People who want to tell others how to live If you're in the second group, kindly go fuck yourselves with a fire hose. ~jg Authors Note: All opinions expressed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;#blog&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413_174433.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18688,"url":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/2025\/04\/today-in-my-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":18587,"position":5},"title":"Today in my head","date":"April 12, 2025","format":"image","excerpt":"It turns out, life is never what you think it is. Several times in my life, I've learned this lesson. Sometimes the hard way. Just because you think it's important, doesn't mean it is. We are always deciding which thoughts are important enough to act on. Everyday decisions are the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;#blog&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250227_1438419198933863469942951.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18589,"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions\/18589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamiegraymusic.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}