2010....WOWZA!

A brandy new year...and the start of a new decade. Funny how just one second can make all the difference, huh? I've always thought the whole New Year's Eve thing was kind of goofy. I mean..it's just one second. But somehow it seems to matter. To a whole lotta folks. It's the dawning of a new year, which must mean that all manner of new things can occur. And for some, it does.

On the other hand...why must we wait until this one second interval to make anything new? Why must we hold off until the start of a new year to make whatever changes we wish to make? Why do we not do this every single morning?

It seems to me that every morning we awaken is a new beginning. There is an adage:

"With every new day, a new story begins."

I LOVE that.

I keep posted on my bathroom mirror. Every morning, when I walk in there to brush my teeth...there it is. And it ALWAYS makes me smile. Because, for me, it's absolutely true. Every single day, a new story begins. And it's up to me to write that story. Starting with the moment I open my eyes...until I lay myself down to rest. And if I've managed to touch the life of even one person in the smallest way, I have lived a good story for that day.

I realize that there are many who find this sort of thing a bit...annoying. How in the world can anyone be so danged cheerful all the time? Is she on crack, or whut?

Nope. Not on crack. I just made the choice to be happy, regardless of what's going on. Regardless of bumps in the road (which are inevitable), regardless of financial distress or physical impairments or boneheaded fools. Regardless of whatever is going on, it's my choice to either be happy...or not. Even when things seems to be impossibly, ridiculously challenging. Even when somebody gets on my last nerve. Even when the pain is so intense it seems I won't be able to breath. No matter. I get to choose:

Will I let this make me miserable or will I breath my way through it, trusting that this, too, shall pass?

I offer this up, yet again, as this new year begins because I think it's essential to live one's convictions. I believe, with all my Being, that we are here to live joyous, exhilarating lives. I believe we ALL have tremendous, marvelous gifts that can change the world...one person at a time.

So whether you just let someone step ahead in line at the grocery store, or you open a door for someone about to walk in at the same moment, or you simply smile at a stranger...just cuz....you have NO IDEA how much of an impact that little gesture may have on a person's day. Don't underestimate this. It matters.

And so do YOU.

I wish you the most bountiful, healthy, prosperous, happy, incredibly splendid year of your life.

Really.