Into 2021 We Go

Gregorian calendar says we are ending the year of 2020 tonight,
And overnight we enter 2021,
All with the same hope and excitement that a new year brings. 

The past year of 2020 challenged everyone in many different ways,

And it would be easy to dismiss,

A year deemed bad or maybe even a year to forget. 

We should not so easily turn our backs on this most challenging year,

Even as many endured so much,

Health, family or simply the impact of our isolation.

Each of us would have good reasons to curse the year,

One that was meant,

A year we thought, would be a turning point of greatness.

It was a year the futurists and prophets of positivity had said,

This year would bring,

But life determines how life itself is going to unfold.

I would rather look back on 2020 and view the challenges,

As growth, of changing perspective,

To view 2020 for the good things happened as well.

The year brought me off the road to spend more time with family,

To find new ways to connect,

To listen to people and to cherish more important things in life.

The year gave all of us celebrations, births, birthdays, accomplishment.

There was more of people talking, 

Sometimes angrily but talking is a way to start resolving differences.

We adapted and created ways to accomplish in spite of,

COVID isolation, social injustice, and pain,

Even as all of this occurred we moved forward, we did it together.

We did all of this working with each other, leaning on each other,

Trusting each other.

By sharing our human experience with each other to push through.

Now 2021, new year, new hopes, goals, dreams and opportunity,

Yet the year is but a number.

And we make of that number, the year, what we want of it.

Life will create what it does for us in the coming days and months.

There will be challenges just like in 2020,

But there will be opportunity, there will be joy, there will be success. 

As is customary, I wish the best for each of you in the new year.

I wish so much,

Health, happiness, love and peace to you, your families, your friends.

Most of all I wish for each of you to find greatness in yourself.  

To know you are great,

And to be happy in yourself with what you have and in what you do.

If you can find that, you can overcome anything.

Life really is great.

Let that be your wish, your goal, your success in 2021.

Stay inspired my friends! 

Auld Lang Syne Means What?

(Image credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)

“For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."
― T.S. Eliot (Little Gidding)

The words to the song Auld Lang Syne traditionally sung at midnight, what do they mean? Those three words, Auld Lang Syne, which we sing in whatever voice we can muster at midnight.

Literally, they mean "old long since" or "long long time".

The "times gone by" bit is about remembering friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten. It is a call to remember old friends as time marches on while we concentrate on New Year Resolutions and finding someone to kiss at midnight.

We fondly remember the past as the future roars in.

Yes, Auld Lang Syne reminds us to remember and cherish our old friendships. They are a call to toast good health and good will for the year ahead. And with that, I give you your lyrics to sing at the stroke of midnight, tonight. (English version)

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
and surely I’ll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine†;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Stay inspired through out the New Year my friends!

Arriving Home

"A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running." - Groucho Marx

From the internet pages of IDriveSafely.com, an article titled “Dangers of Drinking and Driving” reveals that a person is injured in a drunk driving crash nearly every 90 seconds. During the holidays, alcohol-related driving deaths nearly doubles.

This "person" could be your son, daughter, mother, father, wife, friend, co-worker or even you.

Some sobering statistics and great advice can be found on The Zebra website. How to plan ahead, best and worst times to be driving and just how much alcohol is in that drink. The party is great but just be careful to avoid a "mourning" after.

Do not become a January 1 statistic.

Enjoy the party and leave yourself capable of enjoying the days which follow. Arrive home safely and stay inspired my friends.

New Year Traditions

“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.” ― Dr. Seuss

How will you celebrate the new year?

Is there something you do that is completely different from others in celebrating. Maybe old family traditions or cultural celebrations that you have always "just done" because that is what you grew up with.

In Scotland, the holiday is called "Hogmanay", being one of their biggest holidays, surpassing even Christmas. The celebration is several days long and one of the traditions is to build balls from wire, paper and other flammable materials, light them on fire while swinging them round and round while walking through the streets.

Over in Romania, an old rural tradition regaining popularity, takes place with people dressing in elaborate bear costumes. These revelers then go from house to house all of the while dancing as a means to scare aware evil spirits on New Year's Eve.

You might even like a tradition that originated in Spain. As the clock rings twelve times for midnight, people eat a grape each time it rings. This custom should bring to you prosperity and good fortune in the new year. Others also believe it wards off evil spirits.

While in Italy, one custom is for people to start throwing pots, pans and old furniture from their windows at midnight. As the other customs are, this one is done as a symbolic way to reject the old in favor of the new. Doing so allows people to let go of negativity and make room in their lives for positive changes.

Traditions go on and on in many different ways.

So how will you celebrate the coming new year? Are your new year resolutions written down and ready for undertaking on January 1? Have you even thought about what a new year will bring into your life? More importantly, are you filled with positive anticipation?

Stay inspired my friends.

Do You Believe

be-lieve

intransitive verb

1: to have a firm religious faith : to accept something as true, genuine, or real (ideals we believe in) (believes in ghosts)
2: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something (believe in exercise)
3: to hold an opinion : think (I believe so)

transitive verb

1: to consider to be true or honest (believe the reports) (you wouldn't believe how long it took) : to accept the word or evidence of (I believe you) (couldn't believe my ears)
2: to hold as an opinion : suppose (I believe it will rain soon)

What do you believe in? It is a pretty simple question that can be tough for some to answer. When you are first asked this question, does your mind instantly run to religion?  The question could be religious, but it could also refer to the supernatural, philosophical, or scientific. Basically, in means that we all have beliefs that define how we think the world and life work along with how we should interact with it.

Beliefs bridge the gap between what we "know" and what we "assume" in order to function in the world and make decisions. We have beliefs that can be proven and those that can not. Some beliefs are just that, our own belief in how life functions when proof can not be attained.

What I would like to end out the year 2011 with is this;

"Believe in something."

I have a belief in a God that is greater than anything mere men could envision. My belief is that the Mayans have it all wrong regarding 2012. They simply didn't have a greater vision for our world and humanity. In whatever fashion you believe in a greater power or not, believe that the year 2012 is going to be great.

BELIEVE in your visions so that they inspire you to ACT throughout the coming year. You will REALIZE many of your dreams in 2012.

Have a happy celebration this New Year's Eve, be safe, be happy and stay inspired my friends.

The Beginning

"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer." -Denis Waitley

The wondrous day that Christians celebrate each year has come and gone. The marking of Christmas is a Christian holiday that others partake in for other reasons. Christmas breakfast, family close by and a warm fire filling the room. It is a chance and time for people all over the world to slow down a bit and take pause. We take the time to focus more on our God, our family and others. The day creates a moment of reflection on what is important to life.

The timing of Christmas in our Gregorian calendar places the holiday at the end. It takes places on December 25th, a few days short of year's end. In many ways we treat it as the last celebration, the ending of a year and culmination of all our hard work throughout that year of living.

For me it truly marks a beginning to what is to come in my life. It is a birth of new possibility that starts that day. We get the chance to let the previous year be forgiven of any mistakes or wrong turns we took.

Many would argue that we start a new year at the stroke of midnight December 31st. We begin the countdown and as January 1st begins, we sing the song "Auld Lang Syne" as we now begin anew. It marks of course the taking down of one old calendar and unwrapping and hanging of a new one. The song we sing itself asks the question, "Should those we knew and loved be forgotten and never thought of? Should old times past be forgotten?"

"Auld Lang Syne" isn't celebrating the start of something, it is celebrating what has gone by. The song itself tells us that no, those times and people should not be forgotten. We remember those times and people gone, we'll toast them now and always, we'll keep them close; "We'll take a cup of kindness yet." So New Years is a celebration of all that has happened in the previous year. It is a way of remembering those things and people gone before us.

But Christmas marks a new birth, a promise of great things to come and of forgiveness to all that has happened in our lives. This is why you should take this week between Christmas and New Years to reflect on 2011. But you should also get on with your life, moving it forward to greater things. Do not wait for January 1st. Begin now. Birth a new way of living your life.

And stay inspired my friends.

New Year Of Possibility

"The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!" ~Edward Payson Powell

We have the ability to make 2010 anything we want it to be. You have the ability to create the face of this new year. Believe in you, believe in possibility.

Have a happy and prosperous new year!!

Year End Resolution

"Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed." ~Cavett Robertngs

We are nearing the end of calendar year 2009. The resolutions we made on January 1st seem a distant memory. Some may even fret over the fact that they never accomplished those resolutions. The fear is that a year is coming to an end and nothing more can be done.

But a year is only the marking of time, not the end of it. We use it to measure only the passing of time and events. So anything not accomplished yet, still can be pursued.

It also means the end of a year is not really the end of our journey. The things we wanted to accomplish can still be accomplished. The dreams we put on paper twelve months ago can still be dreamt.

The end is only a marking of the final day of a year. It is the continuance of our life's journey. Let the end be only the end of inaction. Let the end be only the end of procrastination.

Let the end be the start of moving forward in life.

The Approaching New Year

AULD LANG SYNE

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old times since ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS
We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS
And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well-known in many English-speaking countries, and it is often sung to celebrate the start of the new year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Follow this link for more information; Auld Lang Syne.

Happy New Year to everyone, enjoy the celebration, be safe and look forward with anticipation to the new year called 2009.
_

Final Thoughts, First Thoughts

The final day of year 2007 and some final thoughts as we move into a new year. The past year has brought many different things into your life. There have been sorrows and pain mixed in with joy and success. Each of us have found a way to bring ourselves to this the 31st of December.

You have been presented with many opportunities to stretch your self into a better person. To take your self to a better place by being the better person and by being a person of impact to others. With a positive attitude, it is my belief your year was a good one.

As this new year is set to ring in, be safe and joyous. The celebrations will continue well past the stroke of midnight and into the new day of the new year. Once you have celebrated and rested, take a moment to write down your dreams, visions or goals for the new year.

Think of a few things that you would like to accomplish. There are many things it could be as everyone's dreams are different. Just know that it all begins with knowing what you want to achieve. Once you have it written on paper, tape it to your bedroom mirror so that you see it every morning and night.

Looking at your goals on a piece of paper doesn't make it come to reality. You now have to figure out what needs to be done to achieve the goal. It could be changing your attitude, it could be changing your knowledge or maybe a change in environment.

So take the first couple of weeks in 2008 to understand your self and what changes you need to make to achieve that goal. It then comes down to executing your plans to achieve, by taking that first step towards the vision.

"Believe in your vision, act upon your vision and realize your vision." Its going to be a great year for you and I wish you nothing but the best.

The New Year

A new year is upon us and new reasons to lift yourself to a new level. Throughout the past year, I have spoken of making change now. To start a new path and not to wait around for the right opportunity. The sun has dawned on a new day and chapter in your life.

The poet Edith Lovejoy Pierce wrote, "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." On this the first day of the year, let us all take the opportunity to write a new future for those around us, for our community, for our children and for ourselves.

It all begins now, so take hold and experience a greater life. Have a happy and great new year.