Happy New & Better Year

I am sitting in my kitchen this morning with snow on the ground and the first of the year behind me. The coffee pot beckons me to have another cup and get back to routine. It has been a long while since I written an entry. My lack of entries was certainly not due to lack of material but probably more time. Gandhi is quoted for one of my favorite life lessons. “There is more to life; than simply increasing its speed”. While this is true and I try to obey this mantra, life doesn’t always follow rules. Sometimes life takes you in directions you never saw coming and they DO move at the speed of light. Often for our betterment, sometimes not and occasionally sorting it all out in a fifty~ fifty split is insanity at its best! I put considerable thought into what to write about in my first entry for the New Year. Would it be a fancy “letter” about our holiday happenings? A list of resolutions that are not really going to better the world or me (come on, you all know you have good intentions but what really happens). Would I chat with you about the birth of our Savior? Or the problems in the world? After much thought I have decided to keep this simple. What would make the world a better place? Whoa!!!! That is not simple you say. End world hunger, create universal peace etc. Really friends, I am into simple, I promise! I am asking each of you to look at yourselves and those around you and apply basic preschool wisdom. Treat others as you too would wish to be treated. You know replace the toilet paper roll, wipe your feet, put your dishes in the sink, and be responsible for your own belongings, say please and THANK-YOU, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze (or better yet stay home and rest and not make others sick). You all know you get angry when others come to work or school sick yet we continually do it to each other. Once in a while hug someone because they deserve a pat or need comfort. Forgive others for mistakes they made (or at best be civil) remember “no matter how flat you smash a coin there are always going to be two sides”. Try your best at everything you do… but also know when to walk away from a bridge that leads nowhere (they are expensive to maintain). If you have the resources (time or money) help those in need. If you are the one in need…Ask those who love you for help (Put away your pride). Everybody needs help sometime, everybody has people who love them even when they think they don’t, and you can always ask God. Know that whatever happens to you or someone else we are all human. By God’s design in giving us free will we will not always make the best choices. It is hard not to judge others but remember most of us thought we were doing the right thing at the time. Most of us don’t aim to disappoint. Be honest! Take a walk, have a picnic, plant a tree or garden and enjoy the gifts of our world. Pick up that piece of trash on the sidewalk even if you didn’t put it there. Bring a friend a cup of coffee, a single piece of chocolate in a brown bag or dinner when they need a lift. Leave a note of joy on somebodies windshield or help an elderly person load their groceries next time you are out. Life DOES move at the speed of light but taking the time to make it a better place isn’t a monumental task but one of everyday thoughtfulness. Who among us doesn’t have time on a daily basis to do at least one of these things or something like this to make the world better? May all of you have a most joyous and blessed New Year. May 2013 bring you peace, hope, good health, prosperity, and the common sense to do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Copyright 2013 Micheline Edwards All rights Reserved.