This year has been another filled with news stories and photos that can often be difficult or disturbing to view. I’ve made it an annual tradition, after rounding up the “news photos of the year,” to compose an essay of uplifting images from the past 12 months—an effort to seek out and recognize some of the abundant joy and kindness present in the world around us. The following are images from the past year of personal victories, families and friends at play, expressions of love and compassion, volunteers at work, assistance being given to those in need, and small and pleasant moments.
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Girls in Beirut make a heart shape as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea, on July 14, 2023. #
Hassan Ammar / AP Read more -
People enjoy a sled ride down a hill at a ski center in the highlands of the town of Cheria, in Tebessa province, Algeria, on January 23, 2023. #
Anadolu / Getty Read more -
Members of San Diego Wave FC hold adoptable puppies before their game against the Washington Spirit at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, on July 8, 2023. The team carried the pups during their walkout to help raise awareness of local animal rescue and adoption centers. #
Ray Acevedo / USA Today Sports / Reuters Read more -
Teresita Santander of Mexico reacts after competing in the 1500-meter Unified Sports open-water swimming competition at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 at Regattastrecke Grünau on June 19, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. #
Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Read more -
Music fans listen to Niall Horan as he performs at TRNSMT Festival 2023, at Glasgow Green on July 7, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. #
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Read more -
Surfing dogs compete in Helen Woodward Animal Center's 18th Annual Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon at Del Mar Dog Beach, on September 10, 2023, in Del Mar, California. #
Daniel Knighton / Getty Read more -
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson makes faces with his daughter during warm-ups before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on October 12, 2023. #
Aaron Doster / USA Today Sports / Reuters Read more -
From left: Kyle Gass, Jack Black, and bassist John Spiker of the band Tenacious D perform at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 6, 2023. #
Jeff Hahne / Getty Read more -
People gather to watch a sea turtle released into the Mediterranean Sea at Beit Yanai beach, Israel, on World Sea Turtle Day, June 16, 2023. #
Ariel Schalit / AP Read more -
A portrait of Anastasia, one of a group of Ukrainian volunteer veterinarians from Kyiv who who traveled to the village of Tavriyske, 25 kilometers from the front line of the Ukraine-Russia war, to administer vaccines, sterilize animals, and treat diseases, seen on October 3, 2023. #
Libkos / Getty Read more -
A group of volunteers who sailed from Maalaea Bay, Maui, form an assembly line on Kaanapali Beach on August 12, 2023, to unload donations from a boat, following a deadly fire. Maui residents have come together to donate water, food, and other essential supplies to people on the western side of the island after the fire destroyed hundreds of homes and left scores of people homeless. #
Rick Bowmer / AP Read more -
A cat named Sülo relaxes outside a shop in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square, in Turkey, on December 30, 2022. #
Murat Şengül / Anadolu Agency / Getty Read more -
Children play on a toy train in a park during an Eid al-Adha festival in the old quarters of Delhi, India, on June 29, 2023. #
Anushree Fadnavis / Reuters Read more -
A newlywed couple waits in a line to register at a marriage-registration center during "520 I Love You" Day on May 20, 2023, in Hefei, Anhui province, China. #
Yuan Bing / VCG / Getty Read more -
Three men participate in a laughter-therapy session on a cold, foggy morning in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on November 20, 2023. #
Mukhtar Khan / AP Read more -
Cecilia Santos uses an eyedropper to feed a hummingbird in the home of Catia Lattouf, who has turned her apartment into a clinic for the tiny birds, in Mexico City, on August 7, 2023. Lattouf and Santos, whom she calls the “hummingbird nanny,” care for the birds in long days that stretch from 5 a.m. into the night. #
Fernando Llano / AP Read more -
Ke Huy Quan (right) accepts the award for Best Picture for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" from Harrison Ford during the Academy Awards ceremony on March 12, 2023, in Hollywood, California. #
Kevin Winter / Getty Read more -
A woman kisses her dog while swimming near a beach on a hot day in Barcelona, Spain, on July 17, 2023. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP Read more -
Children celebrate Holi in Jammu, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Channi Anand / AP Read more -
Todd, a Siberian Husky dog, interacts with Oscar Orozco, an emergency physician, during a therapy session at the ISSSTE's National Center for Mental Health and Palliative Care in Mexico City on July 11, 2023. Eight dogs, two Australian parakeets, and an Angora hamster make up the team trained for the program at the National Center for Mental Health and Palliative Care of ISSSTE, the social-security system for government workers. #
Claudio Cruz / AFP / Getty Read more -
Two people dance in the rain during storm Lee on September 16, 2023, in Bar Harbor, Maine. #
Robert F. Bukaty / AP Read more -
A person is submerged in a ball pit at the Balloon Museum NYC pre-opening event at Pier 36 in New York City on October 26, 2023. #
Noam Galai / Getty for Balloon Museum Read more -
Two pigeons snuggle at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands on February 15, 2023, in Delray Beach, Florida. #
Bruce Bennett / Getty Read more -
Mud-covered farmers play in a paddy field during "National Paddy Day," which marks the start of the annual rice-planting season, in the village of Tokha, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on June 30, 2023. #
Prakash Mathema / AFP / Getty Read more -
A couple embrace after a proposal on the finish line during the 2023 TCS London Marathon on April 23, 2023, in London, England. #
Alex Davidson / Getty Read more -
A U.S. Secret Service uniformed division officer watches over a family of ducks walking on the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the White House, in Washington, District of Columbia, on June 5, 2023. #
Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Read more -
A couple watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean in Bal Harbour, Florida, on June 28, 2023. #
Wilfredo Lee / AP Read more -
Children play with a tire along a street in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on January 9, 2023. #
AFP / Getty Read more -
A child plays with bubbles from a street performer at the Old Port in Marseille, France, on September 9, 2023. #
Peter Cziborra / Reuters Read more -
A performer in costume blows a kiss during the main parade of the Notting Hill Carnival in West London on August 27, 2023. #
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