Happy New Year!

A New Year is upon us...

Oh, those new year's resolutions. Why do we resolve to do one or more things at the beginning of a new year?  Perhaps we feel that this will be the year that we finally break an unhealthy habit like smoking or drinking too much alcohol.  Maybe we'll finally shed those extra pounds or get organized, go back to school, start that hobby we've been thinking about, or maybe just stop being too busy.  Maybe we should spend more time with our family and friends, or go on that dream vacation that we've talked about for years.  

So why do we have this ritual at the beginning of each new year?  Maybe the answer is hope.  Hope is something that can motivate and help us to move forward.  It gives us a chance to start over and review what we have learned from past mistakes.  Maybe this will be the year that we succeed.

The fallen leaf in my photo, will soon be composted back into the earth to become nutrients for new life.  It is a symbol of the end of a purpose fulfilled and it knows that it will become nourishment for those new sprouts waiting to spring forth when the temperatures start rising and the snow melts.  Mother Nature knows instinctively that life will begin anew and every year is another cycle completed and a new beginning.  Maybe that is what gives us hope, and enables us to try again.  After all, if we lose hope, most of us would just give up.  Trying and falling short is part of the human condition.  We have to take what we have learned and do things different the next time.  Not trying for fear of failing is the biggest mistake of all.  Like a line in a well known song:  ".....we go round and round and round in the circle game".  Right now as I am writing this, I've just figured out why we make New Year's Resolutions! It is all in the Grand Scheme of life.

Good luck on your journey through another year and yet another opportunity to accomplish whatever it is that your heart desires! And don't forget to be mindful and enjoy the journey along the way. Many times, it is more important than the 'reward' at the end!