Many people gravitate towards ritual and tradition. It’s the reason why we still have weddings, and birthday and anniversary parties. And it’s why we continue to create New Year’s Resolutions at the end of every year. We might fail to live up to those lofty goals, disappointed come February and completely dismayed by June. Yet, we’ll do it all over again in December.

It’s the hope for a new and better future that makes us compose Resolutions to be happier, be a better friend or manage our emotions. It explains my own desire to do them in the past and why I spent so much time compiling lists filled with weight loss wishes and international travel dreams.

Truth be told, I only ever achieved a few things on my list-minimizing soda consumption and traveling to Europe. In time it became more of a ritualistic task than a practical one. Eventually, I got rid of the list. Instead I focused on what the year brought me and what I was looking forward to in the coming year.

That’s when things like losing weight became about feeling healthier, and traveling to luxurious places became about living an adventurous life. The most important thing it taught me was that I had more things to be grateful for in that past year than things to pine for in the coming one.

I hope our last list for 2012 will bring you ideas for what to accomplish in 2013 with a reminder of how far you’ve already come. How ever you spend New Year’s Eve, may it be one filled with love, peace and hope. Happy New Year!

Continue reading… »