Across the United States, this point in the year often brings a quieter kind of reflection. The excitement of early resolutions may have faded, and many people are left facing the reality of what has changed, what remains unresolved, and what still requires courage. For Elanthé Phoenix, formerly known as Scotia Baker, this kind of midyear or ongoing reflection can be just as meaningful as the symbolic beginning of a new year.
“It’s a moment where people can look honestly at what they hoped for, what has shifted, and what still feels unresolved,” Phoenix says. “For some, that reflection is motivating. For others, it can be difficult because it shows what still needs attention.”
Phoenix recognizes the complexity of those emotions. She believes renewal should not be treated as something limited to January or tied only to calendar milestones. Instead, she sees intention as a choice people can return to whenever life demands reassessment.
“Hope, gratitude, and remembrance don’t cost money,” she says. “They are choices, even when life feels heavy.”
Her reflections come amid continued interest in her broader body of work, particularly as she develops the GIFT framework for future public engagement. GIFT, short for General Information Flow Tensor, is the framework Phoenix has been building to examine the relationship between information, intention, and moral choice. She describes it as a mathematical structure that encourages reflection rather than replacing it, helping individuals consider whether their actions align with what they understand to be right.
For Phoenix, however, the foundation of that work begins before any formal framework is introduced. She believes any moment of pause, whether during a new year, midway through one, or at a personal turning point, can become an opportunity to recover moral clarity.
“Even without GIFT, we can still choose positive intent. We can still seek moral outcomes. We can still give what we can and show up for others,” Phoenix says.
That message reflects ideas she has emphasized for years: self-awareness strengthens ethical decision-making, and affirmations can help people reconnect with truths they already carry. She often describes meaningful change as beginning with a mirror, a moment of honest recognition that includes both strengths and imperfections. At this stage of the year, she believes that practice is especially relevant, as people may begin noticing whether earlier intentions have become habits or quietly slipped away.
“Many people want change to feel immediate or transformative,” she says. “Sometimes that happens naturally, but often it doesn’t. The question becomes: what intention do we bring into the next choice, the next conversation, the next day?”
Her outlook centers on moral agency, the belief that people retain the ability to choose even when circumstances are difficult. Phoenix does not view free will as a distant philosophical idea, but as something practical and daily. In moments of pressure, disappointment, or uncertainty, she suggests that individuals can still choose patience, restraint, honesty, or generosity. Over time, she argues, those small decisions shape both personal character and the environments people create around them.
“Even small resistances to corruption, to wrong behavior, matter greatly,” she explains. “Those decisions build who we are.”
Phoenix also speaks often about remembrance, not as nostalgia, but as responsibility. She sees reflection as a way to acknowledge where people have fallen short, where they have grown, and where they need to return to what matters. This process, she says, does not belong only to major holidays or new beginnings. It remains useful throughout the year, especially when people are processing loss, disappointment, broken promises, or defining experiences. In her view, remembrance offers clarity rather than regret.
“We do not control everything that happens to us, but we can decide who we are in response,” she notes.
These ideas connect closely to the philosophical foundation behind GIFT, though Phoenix emphasizes that people make moral choices at every turning point, not only at the start of a calendar year. Any season of reflection can create space to reconsider how people relate to themselves, to others, and to the wider world. The principles remain consistent: reflection informs action, moral outcomes depend on conscious choice, and individuals often possess more agency than they realize.
As people continue moving through a year shaped by both hope and uncertainty, Phoenix hopes they remember that kindness, honesty, and patience remain accessible regardless of circumstance. She acknowledges that hardship is real and that many households are carrying complicated emotions. Still, she returns to the belief that meaningful change begins with intention, an internal shift that does not depend on wealth, status, or certainty.
“What we choose to remember, what we choose to honor, and how we choose to show up, these are things still within our power,” she says.
For Phoenix, hope is not a refusal to face reality, but a way of meeting it. Gratitude is not denial, but recognition. Remembrance is not about remaining fixed on what was lost, but about understanding what can still guide people forward.
“At any point in the year, we have the ability to choose positive intent,” she says. “And that choice matters.”
