A New Year's Wish for Love, Learning, and Peace

It is the beginning of a new year, and I find myself reminiscing about past New Year celebrations. The most memorable one for me was the turn of the millennium—New Year 2000. It wasn’t just a new year; it was the celebration of a new century. As I close my eyes to recall that night, it feels as though it happened last month, not twenty-four years ago.

Time flies. And as we age, it seems to fly even faster. At the end of each day, I ask myself: What did I do today? Often, I can’t recall much. I remember waking up and rushing through the day, and the next thing I know, I’m brushing my teeth, preparing for sleep. The day is gone. The same feeling extends to the week or month that passed. Thinking about last year’s New Year celebration, it feels as though it was just last week.

Here is the sobering thought: if twenty-four years feel like twenty-four days, at my age of 87, I may be gone, feelings wise, in the next few days—maybe tomorrow, or next week.

This realization prompts me to reflect on my wishes—for myself, my family, the Adizes Institute, and the world. In time left what is it that I hope for?

For myself, I wish to greet New Year 2026 in good health so I can continue living following the advice I once found online:

“Learn as if you will live forever.
Love as if you will die tomorrow.”

I continue to seek opportunities to learn—about life, people, and the countries that have shaped me. I was born in North Macedonia, saved from the Holocaust in Albania, grew up in Serbia, matured in Israel, and developed professionally in the United States. These countries, along with many others I’ve worked in, have taught me more about life than any classroom could. By last count fifty-two countries. ( All told in my memoir The Accordion  Player)

When it comes to love, I ensure those I care about know how deeply I feel for them. I seize every opportunity to express love, not just in words but in deeds. I am blessed to be surrounded by love. When you give love, it has a way of coming back to you.

For my family, my wish is that we continue to enjoy good health and remain dedicated to making the world a better place—not just for earning a living, but for contributing meaningfully. I hope we never lose the courage or resolve to pursue this path.

For the Adizes Institute, my dream is to see the Adizes methodology become a formal part of leadership education and its clinical practice, the new profession, Symbergetic™ Organizational Therapy that I started, to be formally recognized. Though I may not live to see it happen, my wish is for the Institute’s leadership to be dedicated to carry this mission forward until it is realized.

Finally, for the people of Israel, my hope is that we can transcend the pain caused by ongoing conflict and open our hearts to understand the suffering of the Palestinian people. They are suffering for the tragedy they did not cause, the Holocaust and two thousand years of us being persecuted. They live in camps, with little hope for a future for themselves or their children. May we take responsibility with compassion and open hearts to resolve their plight, as we are the only ones who truly can. And may the Palestinians open their heart and realize our two thousand years of  ongoing suffering. Of our need to have a place we can call our own, the land of our ancestors,  and force Hamas to release the hostages,—innocent lives enduring unimaginable suffering. May we stop Hamas and messianic Jewish nationalism from continuing to cause war and damage.

May wars be outlawed by international law and universal agreement and may conflicts be resolved through international courts of justice. No more by spilling each other’s blood, making mothers weep for their children  and children for their parents gone.

Amen.