I know that the tail end of 2023 was a little tumultuous to say the least. You worried if you would ever get the same psychological stability that you started the year with — a stable baseline from which the rest of your life could start flourishing through. You worried about whether things would be good again. You worried whether the taste of the life you had at the start of the year would eventually come back.

Well, I’ll start off with some reassurance: the foundations are good.

I actually had a really hard time writing this year’s letter in part because all of the previous ones were marked by single memorable events that happened throughout the year. Of course, this year had events too but none that defined the year the previous years did. Rather, the routine is what made it memorable: things I returned to week after week that gave the tapestry of 2024 texture.

So rather, instead of describing all the events that happened this year, I’m going to tell you about all the threads and patterns that made my life wonderful this year.