There is a phrase that has given me courage whenever life has been most difficult. It is this: “The best is yet to come.” Throughout the past year, whenever I walked through fog‑like moments when tomorrow seemed completely hidden, I held onto that one sentence. It comforted me, steadied me, and helped me gather myself again.

I whispered it silently—countless times—to neighbors going through hardship, and to the unknown families who lost loved ones in the tragedy of 9/11. The expectation and hope for what has not yet arrived becomes a special kind of energy in life. It keeps us human, and it strengthens the inner person.

Yet now, as the wick of the year slowly burns down, I cannot help but ask myself: How faithfully have I kept my promise to pursue that “best” I longed for?

Everyone’s idea of “the best” may differ. At the beginning of the year, the outline of my own hopes looked something like this:

1. Live simply.
2. Do not store up the day’s energy in the warehouse of laziness—use it freely and without regret.
3. Live passionately, and whenever possible, live sacredly.
4. Whatever I do, remember that the highest purpose is the sharing of joy.
5. Whenever possible, challenge myself with something new.

But embarrassingly, the picture of my year became yet another rough draft. I cannot help sighing deeply—“How is it that at my age, I still cannot get things right?”—and yet I also confess that I cannot abandon hope for the new year.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”

Who does not wish for a successful life? But what blocks us from moving confidently toward our dreams is the fear of failure.

Robert T. Kiyosaki—third‑generation Japanese American, millionaire in his early twenties, and author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad—described this human tendency to fear new challenges:

“When learning to ride a bicycle, everyone falls and gets hurt. But once you learn the skill, even if someone takes your bicycle away, they cannot take away your ability to ride.” He urges us not to let past wounds make us afraid of failing again, but to step toward new possibilities without hesitation.

Most people become trapped not by the lessons learned from failure, but by the shame and fear that failure brings. Yet repeated mistakes are signs that the moment is drawing near when we will race joyfully across the overpass of life. They are opportunities to build confidence.

The sun of the new year is rushing toward us. I hold myself gently as I prepare to welcome it. Let me not forget that God has promised to support me with unconditional love in the coming year as well. Let me shake off the dust of fear, failure, sorrow, and painful memories that settle unpleasantly around my life.

Like the sunrise breaking through the waters at dawn, let me fill my heart with rising hope and expectation. Let us greet the new days with gratitude simply because you and I are alive. As I am embraced by others, let me trust and believe in them even more.

Let me discover resources I have not yet explored and learn to use them. Let me more often lose myself in the fragrance of flowers and open my ears to the birds’ songs. And let me look forward to the best things in my life running toward me as the new year opens its wide door.

– WanHee Yoon, Korea Central Daily, New York, 12/31/2001