Ringing In the New Year

Clocks in Candlelight
Originally uploaded by janusz l ( in Ireland with limited net ... )

Today is the last day of 2008! It’s been a very crazy year, both personally and for the world. I think the crowning moment of this year was the election of Barack Obama as the first Black President of this country! Such a time proved that this country is ready to put its dark past behind us, and move forward in the name of Progress. I hope this year can see that forward-movement continuing and growing stronger in its momentum!

Closer to home, this year has seen many changes in my life, both good and bad. I’ve been unsuccessful in finding a new job, though I have been given the blessing of a second opportunity to pursue an education. I’ve also been able to reconnect with many old friends while finding a whole slew of new ones. This next year will also be my last as a 20-something, and that’s a change I’m finding a bit daunting.

I hope that each of my readers will spend today and tonight pondering over the last year, evaluating themselves in the light of memory. Have they grown, either mentally, spiritually, financially or even physically? Are you a better person than you were this time last year? Or worse? The cliché that hindsight is 20/20, is very apt for today. So many people will be making New Year’s Resolutions tonight; but what will be the value of such resolutions if they do not have the weight of our experiences this last year?

I prefer to focus on what has happened, rather than to make more resolutions for the future. As you may guess, I’m not particularly fond of New Year’s resolutions, not because they’re bad ideas…but because I don’t have any way of possibly knowing what the next year holds in store for me. I guess my only “resolution” is to take whatever things may come for me and turn them into building blocks for improvement. I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

To all my friends, followers and loves: Happy New Year! And God bless you!