Auld Lang Syne - For Times Gone By

There is much to ponder as 2006 comes to an end. This is the time of year when we think about resolutions to change and resolve issues we are coping with, or perhaps just to evaluate what went down in the last year, and ascertain how to make things better in the next. There are always the standard New Year's Eve vows to address behaviors we'd like to change, like eating less, and exercising more, but as the clock ticks away the minutes toward a brave new year, I've thought of a few others I'd like to share.

Take more personal responsibility. Know right from wrong. Figure out if there is a standard right from wrong. If so, figure out how to apply it across state and international borders, or at the very least apply it in our own homes and communities. Learn more about how government works. Realize we live in communities, and we need each other. Vote. Find a solution to end world hunger, and put a plan into action, beginning with the folks in our own cities. Reach out and touch someone -- gently. Stop violence. Hug more....it releases feel-good chemicals in our brains. Wake up and smell the coffee. Practice what we preach, and try to keep the preaches short, and sweet. Learn from our mistakes. Teach our children well - and provide them with food, shelter, healthcare, comfort, and love. Realize that greatness and strength don't necessarily mean using unabashed force. Find inner calm. Find outer calm too. Remember that not all issues are black and white, or male and female, but that there is a yin and yang in everything. Be more ecologically minded, enviornmentally aware, and earth-protective. Breathe more, stress less. Click your heels and say, "there's no place like home." When in doubt, ask directions. Follow your heart, but bring a map just in case. Love more. Eat less fried foods. Be happy, and pass it on.