PEBBLE
If you only focus on what you left behind you will never see what lies ahead.
-Gusteau from Ratatouille [lightly edited], shared by Robin in Milwaukee, WI
BOULDER
This is the challenge of life, isn’t it? Moving forward without annihilating what has gone before. Knowing what to clasp onto and what to release without destroying yourself. Trying not to be the meteor and the dinosaur at once.
~Matt Haig (from The Life Impossible), shared by Nora in San Antonio, TX
PONDER
So it’s already a few days into the new year, and I’m still reveling in the magic of WE MADE IT TO 2026! Last week’s quotes were about winding down the past year by looking backward. That felt like a logical way to wrap up 2025, and I’ve been excited to counter that with a fresh start to the new year by looking forward.
I confess I made a tiny tweak to Gusteau’s wise words by inserting the word only. As usual, I think it’s less about choosing one or the other and more about finding the right balance between the two. It is admittedly tricky to honor our past selves without getting stuck there, just as we want to step into the future without erasing what shaped us.
And honestly? This “balancing the backward and forward” thing is ongoing work. Some days we lean more into remembering; other days we tilt toward possibility.
Since we spent last week looking back, how about we spend this week looking ahead and wondering what possibilities could await us—especially if we keep our eyes forward and our hearts open?
Peace,
Paul
P.S. Did you know that about 200 people cover the costs of keeping these Ripples free and ad-free for all 20,000 Ripplers? We recently hd a few folks “graduate” from our Team Ripples Patreon Community, moving on to help other worthy causes. We’d love to find a few dozen folks to pitch in for 2026, and I might have a couple tiny treats to mail to those who join up in January.