Despite the challenges all of us faced during 2020, this is a time of year many of us step back, reflect and think about (or perhaps hope for) what will come next.

It’s natural during the holidays to get swept up in the nostalgia of simpler times, happy memories with loved ones, family and friends – and to hope that we will all overcome what has been one of the toughest chapters any of us has ever faced.

The holidays radiate messages of peace and love and getting along with our fellow human beings. Christmas cards picture the lion and the lamb resting together surrounded by music echoing the sentiment “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”

Unfortunately, the goodwill of the holidays too often comes to a sudden halt the moment those of us in the New Hampshire Legislature get to the second week of January. It just happens, like a favorite photo packed into your wallet and essentially forgotten. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

What would happen if the N.H. House and N.H. Senate had no political parties, no divisions along philosophical lines? What if instead of debating whether it’s necessary to permit guns and alcohol on the N.H. House floor, we all came together for one singular purpose: to make the lives of all Granite Staters better? What if for just one day all 424 of us put aside all our differences and tried to accomplish just one thing for the people of New Hampshire without thinking about who would get credit or blame, about what labels we used for each other or how we addressed each other except for maybe, “My friend”?

In these turbulent political times, with such deep divisions, perhaps this could be our collective New Year’s resolution or holiday wish. With our focus on people in need, perhaps we could:

■Rid our state statutes of bias against people of color that exists due to years of New Hampshire being a majority white state and once and forever recognize that New Hampshire has a diverse and rich culture with peoples from across the spectrum who deserve equitable treatment and complete involvement in our communities;

■Develop plans to revamp our tax system that will strengthen our economy and also allow families to thrive with affordable housing, offer a livable wage for all, a healthy workforce with available health care and equitable education for all. We could create an accompanying economic work plan that will resolve why we have so many jobs going unfilled at the same time that we have so many people unable to find a job;

■Fund an early anti-violence prevention program to demonstrate to our children there is another way to deal with anger other than hurting one another, so that we shatter the cycle of violence that results in continued domestic violence incidents we see in so many families;

■Cast aside our social media accounts and our decisions to make snide nasty asides whenever we get the feeling to comment on anything that happens on the spur of the moment. Respectfully talk to people one on one and think about what we say and how we say it before we speak. It’s old-fashioned, I know, but maybe this could lead to people to open both hearts and ears, to advance a conversation with cogent ideas that have merit and take into account more than one individual or perspective.

Our melancholy and heartfelt holiday musings shouldn’t evaporate after the New Year’s confetti falls. It would be a wonderful change in pace if the politicians running our state would let go of the grievances they have with one another and just deal in the work of helping others.

Our glad tidings can and should extend beyond this holiday. If our current challenges have taught us anything it’s that we do our best work when we all work together.

(Katherine Rogers of Concord represents Merrimack District 28 in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.)