In the past year I have seen families destroyed, people torn down for their beliefs and lifestyle choices, people degraded, mistreated and outcast for nothing other than being true to themselves. I have seen people band together to lift each other up in times of need. I have seen outpourings of love, support and unconditional acceptance of others. I have seen friendships forged, love found, lives lost and lives welcomed into the world. I have seen bodies ravaged by drug abuse, I have seen children succeed, businesses fail, and the first african american elected to office.
During my travels today, the hope of the new year was buzzing around me like angry bees. Everyone I came across was resolving to do something BETTER in 2009. It dawned on me that MAYBE they don’t get it…maybe they don’t realize that they don’t get to wipe their slate clean when the clock tolls midnight on December 31st; there are no “do overs”. You can’t take back those angry words, you can’t undo hurt or pain you may have inflicted on others. No resolution or “changing of the guard” will magically make it go away. How you choose to live and behave today has a DIRECT effect on how you are perceived tomorrow.
How are you living your life? Are you grateful for the people around you that lift you up and support you no matter what? Do you always treat others the way that you want to be treated? Are you using patience? Are you tolerant? When you look in the mirror, take a long hard look and inventory. Are you the type of friend that you would want to have? If the answer is yes, then I applaud you; but, if not, make the changes necessary to be that person. This life is too short to walk around angry, entitled, etc. Brush the dirt of your shoulder, make your amends and strive to live your life the way you would want to be remembered.
I want to take this time to thank you, my friends, for being part of my life, lifting me up and always giving me a reason to strive to be a better person tomorrow than I am today. Without each and every one of you, I may not have come out the otherside of 2008 unscathed. I appreciate you for who you are, who you are to become and who you are to me. I cherish you and am so thankful that you are in my life. The journey wouldn’t be the same without you.
Great post! I’m don’t usually do resolutions. I do try to take a look at the girl in the mirror every year, and change the things that I see and don’t like.
I’m guilty of making resolutions every year and then becoming a member of the FAIL brigade. The turn of a year doesn’t give you clean slate. That’s very true. However, it can give you renewed hope that things can and will get better.
It’s all in how you choose to look at it
This is a great post. I myself am not one for making resolutions. I always have goals in my head 24/7 that I want to achieve but they don’t automatically start on January 1st. I hope that I am always the best person/friend that I can be. This is a great reminder to me that it’s something I must continuously work on. Happy New Year Jen I hope you have a fantastic 2009!
What an excellent post! I agree that there are no do-overs, you can’t right the wrongs you have committed by simply flipping a calendar page, but I look at the new year like a fresh piece of paper in a notebook. All of the other pages are still there, but the empty one has yet to be filled – hopefully with bigger and better things than ever.
I hope you have a wonderful 2009! XOXOXO
You are such a sweetie. Yes, indeed, it’s hard to see that our struggles are generated from our own actions. Natural logical consequences affect us all!
I’m so delighted to have met you! Thank you for the present of your presence in my life.
What a great post Jen! There are no do overs, but there’s always a way to evaluate and make better choices in the future.
I hope you have the very best 2009 possible, because you deserve it.
^5 Gyrlie!!
I do not make resolutions for this reason. I think that everyday, I am the best I can be, and every day I work harder to be that person I see in my mind. This is not an annual resolution i can make and break…to break this would be to become a person I do not like or respect or admire …
THIS is what I love about meeting people all over the world … for so many reasons I think you and I would not likely have met in person … but online we were drawn together by the company we kept.
In so many ways our lives and personalities and worlds are completely different, but in this … our view is the same.
Happy New Year, Jen – I hope you are blessed with much life-living and happiness.
xox