{Spark}

The New Year is approaching. Fast. Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa (which ever holiday(s) you celebrate) are/is over, and now you are on the cusp of a new year. A new era. A new you. A lot of people create lists of things they want to accomplish in the new year. Some people vow that the extra 10 pounds they've been carrying around with them the past five years will finally be shed in the new year, and some people promise themselves that this year will be different. But, let's be honest, how many of us have ever kept up our New Years Resolutions? Ever joined a gym and around January 1, every machine is taken because people are going to get "back on track" but by March the gym is once again sane because people have quit? Ever talked to a friend at the beginning of the new year and they swear they're going to create a budget but half way through the year gush about the fab new designer clothes they just "totally splurged on, but like had to have, ya know?" You get my point. Instead of creating these things that we need to be changing about ourselves just because the year is changing isn't a way to live. We need to be more active in who we are and who we are becoming all year round. There are things that happen within 12 months that change who we are: car accidents, loss of a job, meeting someone who hurt you in a way you never thought possible, miscarriage, death in the family...We need to constantly be evaluating ourselves like we do around the new year all the time.
Instead of taking stock of things that you need to change about yourself this New Year season, take note of the things that you're doing right. I'm a firm believer that living a life well is the only way to live. Some people may say that you're wrong or that you're doing something wrong, but as long as you know that you have lived your life in a way that you can die happy about, you're doing it right. Two days before Christmas, I had a friend from back home and her husband pass suddenly in an unforseen plane crash. Everyone has been on Facebook and email, sending around memories about her and her husband. The one thing that all the sentiments about who my friend was have in common is that she was the most kind person and her love for living a full life has been unparallelled by anyone else we know. We all want to leave behind fond memories and feelings when we pass, and we all want to live a full life. I say, why can't you? What's stopping you? Just do it. Live the life you want. Don't wait until every January 1 to do this, do it now. Do it all year long.