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.
Hopeful Images From 2023
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![Two young people hold their hands close together, their fingers forming a heart shape in silhouette against the setting sun.]()
Read moreGirls in Beirut make a heart shape as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea, on July 14, 2023. #
Hassan Ammar / AP -
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![A young child smiles, riding on a sled with a man.]()
Read morePeople 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 -
![A line of soccer players stands in a stadium, each holding a puppy with a green bandana on it.]()
Read moreMembers 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 -
![A swimmer embraces someone after a race.]()
Read moreTeresita 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 -
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![A person sits on the shoulders of another, amid a crowd of cheering fans at an outdoor concert.]()
Read moreMusic 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 -
![A dog closes its eyes while riding on a surfboard.]()
Read moreSurfing 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 -
![A hockey player makes faces with his young daughter.]()
Read moreColumbus 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 -
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![Members of a band play guitars on a stage.]()
Read moreFrom 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 -
![People gather to watch a sea turtle released into the sea, as it swims beneath a wave.]()
Read morePeople 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 -
![A volunteer veterinarian stands for a portrait inside a room full of boxes.]()
Read moreA 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 -
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![People stand in a line on a beach, handing supplies from one to the other.]()
Read moreA 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 -
![A cat wearing sunglasses rests on a small bed outside a gift shop.]()
Read moreA cat named Sülo relaxes outside a shop in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square, in Turkey, on December 30, 2022. #
Murat Şengül / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![Children play on a toy train in a street]()
Read moreChildren 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 -
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![A newlywed couple smile at each other.]()
Read moreA 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 -
![Three men stand together, arms up, on a foggy morning.]()
Read moreThree men participate in a laughter-therapy session on a cold, foggy morning in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on November 20, 2023. #
Mukhtar Khan / AP -
![A person uses an eyedropper to feed a hummingbird.]()
Read moreCecilia 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 -
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![Actors Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan smile and point at each other onstage as Oscar statuettes are presented.]()
Read moreKe 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 -
![A woman kisses her dog while swimming.]()
Read moreA woman kisses her dog while swimming near a beach on a hot day in Barcelona, Spain, on July 17, 2023. #
Emilio Morenatti / AP -
![A group of boys covered in colored powder laugh together.]()
Read moreChildren celebrate Holi in Jammu, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Channi Anand / AP -
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![A person leans down and hugs a big dog.]()
Read moreTodd, 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 -
![Two people dance in the rain alongside a road.]()
Read moreTwo people dance in the rain during storm Lee on September 16, 2023, in Bar Harbor, Maine. #
Robert F. Bukaty / AP -
![A person's face peeks through hundreds of small black plastic balls.]()
Read moreA 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 -
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![Two pigeons snuggle.]()
Read moreTwo pigeons snuggle at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands on February 15, 2023, in Delray Beach, Florida. #
Bruce Bennett / Getty -
![Mud-covered farmers play in a paddy field.]()
Read moreMud-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 -
![A couple embrace after a proposal on the finish line of a race.]()
Read moreA 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 -
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![A Secret Service officer with a bike stands on a sidewalk beside a mother duck and 10 small ducklings.]()
Read moreA 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 -
![Two people stand close together, silhouetted by the rising sun.]()
Read moreA couple watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean in Bal Harbour, Florida, on June 28, 2023. #
Wilfredo Lee / AP -
![Children play with a tire along a street in Afghanistan.]()
Read moreChildren play with a tire along a street in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on January 9, 2023. #
AFP / Getty -
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![A child plays with bubbles from a street performer.]()
Read moreA child plays with bubbles from a street performer at the Old Port in Marseille, France, on September 9, 2023. #
Peter Cziborra / Reuters -
![A performer in a large feathered costume blows a kiss to the camera.]()
Read moreA performer in costume blows a kiss during the main parade of the Notting Hill Carnival in West London on August 27, 2023. #
Henry Nicholls / AFP / Getty
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