EVERY DAY IS A NEW BEGINNING + 365 DAYS = A VERY NEW YEAR, Be Happy Wherever you ARE!!!!

Nothing lasts forever! Today's a new beginning!

I think it’s so incredibly awesome how God created “DAYS”. An opportunity for us to have learned from our past lessons and to move forward using those opportunities to make today a richer and more loving experience. Each morning when my eyes sleepily open, I thank Him for the gift of this brand new day. It truly is an opportunity to take the lessons I continue to learn to a different level, one of compassion, understanding, knowledge and sharing MY LIGHT!

For most of my life and because of the way I was raised, I believed that most things in life are to be PRIVATE, emotions, thoughts, prayers,faith, opinions,accomplishments, frustrations, ideas, things I see as funny, disappointments, losses, changes….gosh just about everything. What have my “seasoned years” taught me? TRANSPARENCY AND AUTHENTICITY!!!!!

I do have the right to be who I am and all I can be and each day brings the opportunity to do so, one at a time.

Do I believe in New Years Resolutions? Nodda….most of mine have been broken before the day is out, like the time I decided to not eat chocolate for 6 months….the sun had not even set and already I had forgotten and had a bite of the creamy, sweet, rich dark and divine taste of my favorite bar. Or the k zillion times I began the “after holidays diet“….now that sure was a bust, I continued to “bust” out of my clothes day after day. It wasn’t until I decided to use a smaller plate, eat several times a day or at the least my main meal at lunch time and drink plenty of water, no soda, and work out at the YMCA that I began to change and lose unwanted pounds by knowing I reduced the size of my clothes and even shoe size! For me it was an attitude change and it began before the past holiday season….with a preference in lifestyle subtle changes like eliminating anything “WHITE” in my diet: no sugar, white bread, soda, salty foods like chips and dips, and began to use my fist for portion sizes…..I never would have believed I could accomplish what I thus far have and I am delighted to say, it only took 365 days, 1 year!

So this New Year there will again be no resolution of giving up, but resolutions of doing. Making my vision board of what I want my life to look like, painting, writing, honing my listening skills, continuing to express gratitude for all I have and all the people who touch my life, freely giving sincere compliments, working on consistency with MY boundaries, which by the way I didn’t really ever have, now I do….at least sometimes. And more involvement within my own community, especially with the elderly and homeless, still my passions and the areas that give me the most satisfaction when I volunteer to do something for these folks that makes a small difference.

I will continue to attempt to be accepting of others and not controlling or expect them to change to accommodate what I deem as to be the right way to do something. I will continue to grow spiritually and to learn how to really love others as Jesus does….with my heart, mind and soul and be the “shining light” that ignites the fire and passion in another.

In years past I used to dread New Years and all it’s “RESOLUTIONS”, now it has developed in to an exciting time for change and adventure within myself. Whatever changes occur within my life seem easier to cope with. I am far less critical and have fewer and fewer expectations of others. My focus is now on my own life and the blessings and love I can pass onto others, “PAYING IT FORWARD” in any ways I can. Every day is now a new beginning for me, an opportunity to begin anew, 365 of them = A VERY HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR, wherever I am, whatever I am doing!

Many blessings to each of you and be comforted that people only improve with age, like fine wine with options to be “dry and lifeless” or smooth and “sweet”…..choose your flavor and then taste the joy found within this beautiful world and our brothers and sisters that live here. Be Happy Wherever You Are beginning with the 1st night of the year, try it and see if a shift in YOUR attitude doesn’t create the dreams you hold in your heart. And remember: the legacy you will leave to the world, the imprint of your footsteps is learning to let your true light shine! Happy New Year! It’s truly just beginning…with tomorrows new day!