Another year has come and gone

As we enter 2012, with resolutions buzzing in our ears, and the chill of winter howling outside the door, it is easy to come over all glum with thoughts of how we didn't get done everything from 2011. Things on your to-do list do not instantly vanish at midnight on December 31 each year. Things like changing your diet. Finishing projects you started in 2011. Giving your place a first class cleaning have yet to be done. A lot of people take off to celebrate the New Year at the side of the Ocean or at a ritzy hotel dancing the night away. Me, I like to sit and watch the New Year come in from the comfort of my armchair. One of my friends says that in her culture New Year's day is for setting the tone for the New Year. You should spend it doing whatever you hope to be doing for the whole year. It is good to be sure the house is tidy, and that your bills are paid, but that you also should be sure to do what you love on New Year's so that you are more likely to do more of that later on. If you hope to be making more money, ask your boss for a raise, or at least roll up some pennies. If you hope to get married, make sure you have a date for a New Year's party. It sounded like a self-fulfilling prophesy to me, and I was all for it. Another friend has herd of the custom that on New Year’s Eve you sit and write on separate sheets of paper the most challenging things that obstruct your life that you would change if you could or that you hoped would go away. If you have a fireplace, put a sheet of paper that you have written a problem on into the fire. Do this each hour before the stroke of 12. If you don’t have a fireplace take an old pan and each hour light one of the sheets and place it in the pan. According to many people by doing this, you will remove these problems from your life. I do think that New Year's Day is a good time to review your goals and steel up your nerve for another round of personal effort for the coming year. I do believe that ultimately our resolve to be more productive and happier people will yield results. Hopefully all us can and will face the New Year with renewed confidence that we will be ultimately more successful and feel more reassured when facing problems in 2012. The poet William Arthur Ward put it this way “ Another Fresh New Year is here. Another year to live. To banish worry, doubt, and fear. To love, laugh, and give.” We can regain composure and dignity and get back to the business of making our vision of us as better people more reality than fiction. If you find yourself slipping on the banana peel of your resolutions, don't give up, just start over from wherever you are. First thing on January 2 will be just fine. To all of my Friends have a Very Merry Happy and Healthy 2012.