There’s a saying among Millennials and Gen Z: “we are very tired of living in historic times.”

Sometimes, it will get spun in slightly different ways, such as “I would like to live in precedented times,” or “I have lived through so many once-in-a-lifetime events already.”

Of course, every generational cohort has their fair share — or more than their fair share — of challenges. Millennials and Gen Z are certainly not alone in this.

And yet, we can certainly see how the wheel of time feels like it is spinning quite quickly indeed, these days. Our rapidly evolving technology seems to ensure that innovations and challenges come more and more swiftly, often riding immediately upon each others’ heels, with no time or chance to rest or recover.

In the latter half of the 20th century, it seemed as though there were “quiet” years — where things happened, certainly, but nothing…shall we say dramatic.

We are reminded of a famous Lenin quote, of all things: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

Lately, it’s seemed like we have lived through an awful lot of the latter.

Regardless of your political stance, affiliation or beliefs, everyone can agree that major challenges lie ahead, littering the field of future opportunities like landmines.

A few examples include the ever-increasing ramp-up of climate change and mass extinctions, whether caused by human actions or not; the rise of large language models and other AI-adjacent systems, and the challenges that will bring to swaths of our workforce; the continual waves of immigration occurring all over the world as people flee failing conditions in their homelands; and the vicegrip of the rich as vast amounts of wealth get more and more consolidated within the ranks of a few dozen billionaires — and what this means for the rest of us.

All of these are things that are happening. We don’t all agree how, why or what to do about it — but this formidable slate of difficulties is some of what we know is waiting for us.

And, you can add to that some of the global uncertainties that are swirling about: Will H5N1 bird flu mutate to cause another pandemic within the next few years? What will happen with the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel? Will China carry out its threats to invade Taiwan?

Even more worrying, we don’t know what surprises the future may hold. Recent history has taught us that they are rarely good — COVID, anyone?

All we can do, ultimately, is square our shoulders and march forward, into the whatever future awaits us.

Sometimes, when struggling with the enormity of the times in which we live, we like to reflect on a key exchange between two characters from J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring:”

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Tolkien, we would remind readers, lived through both World Wars and served, in the trenches, in the first.

This is a man who was rather intimately familiar with the plaintive notion of living in a time of struggle.

And yet, his message is fundamentally one of hope; his tone, full of merriment and joy.

There is struggle, and suffering; tragedy and tears.

But remember, too, the kiss of the warm sun, the joy of friendship and the contentment of family — the satisfying crunch of your favorite cookie or the smooth cool of a chilled coffee…

The little things.

With luck and pluck, as we turn the page to 2025, may your year be filled with these small joys — and more.