Happy New Year....every day

People are getting ready to go to parties tonight to ring in the New Year.  Parades, way too much food, way too much drink, and bowl games are apparently the way to get our year started off in the right way. What?? Well, never mind all that. However you ring in the New Year, I hope you do it with vim and vigor.  Did you know that "vim" comes from a Latin word for "strength"? Better yet, do you care? I do, only because I love the meaning of words, and I love, love, love anything to do with grammar.  (I think I just heard Dave say "You just love correcting people's grammar", which may be true but a bit harsh for this kinder, gentler day of New Years' Eve.) 
Since you will likely be busy today and tomorrow, I'll keep this post brief, but I wanted to point something out.  I love all the well-wishes on Facebook --- people posting pictures of 2017 being washed away and 2018 spring forth in new and bright glory.  One friend sent me a picture of a clock of 2017.  Each "hour" of 2017 is a word such as: stress, disappointment, chaos, failures, and darkness (yes, there are seven more of them, but trust me, they are all pretty grim).  When you touch the clock, the hand of 2017 time starts sweeping away all those words and then, at the end, fireworks go off and 2018 begins anew.  I love it. I really do.
I just have a question: why do we wait until the end of the year to say, "If this year stunk, I sure hope next year will be better?" In fact, why do we wait until this day to wish everyone a Happy New Year? (Okay, what smart-alec just said, "because it is the only time it is a new year") My point is: why do we not wish each other a Happy New Day every single day?   Why do we not say, at the end of each day, "I am going to wipe away all the frustration and despair from today and start anew tomorrow"?  I am blessed to be in a pretty cool 12-step group that teaches us to do this on a daily basis.  
I am not speaking for everyone in a 12-step program, but here's what it looks like for me:
I start my day by getting down on my knees (literally----just ask Kirby, who often comes over to the side of the bed to lick my nose) to ask God to direct my thinking for the day, a day that is new and fresh every day ---not just at the end of the year and the beginning of a new year.
I then try to remember the principles I have been taught about cleaning my own house (not literally---Lord knows Dave would laugh his butt off thinking I would do a good job with this on a daily basis), trust God, and help others along the way.
On a side note, we took a bunch of stuff to a donation drop-off center yesterday and they were SWAMPED! I asked the girl that was working if she and her co-workers wished we could all do a better job of cleaning out our closets throughout the year instead of waiting until year's end.  She was exhausted and could only nod.  But we save it all up for some reasons (tax purposes, perhaps?) for the end of the year when we should likely be "cleaning house" and taking care of others throughout the year.

During the day, when I am agitated, fearful, caught up in worry or whatever, I pause and sometimes even say, "I am going to start my day over." I pray to my Higher Power (who, for me, is God, but whatever works for you...) to help me begin again with a grateful heart. And if I really get in a bind, I talk to another someone who might be able to help me screw my head back on correctly.

At the end of the day, I take a moment to give thanks for the day and ask forgiveness for the places in which I have strayed or messed up.  

Every day is a new day.  I am eternally grateful for that.  I am also eternally grateful for all the friends and family with whom I get to share the journey of life.  
Why wait for the end of the year to celebrate making it through another year? Why wait for the beginning of the year to begin a resolution? Why not, instead, start each day with a clean heart and clean mind and live life the way God intended----cleaning house, trusting God and helping the guy behind you?  And then, at the end of the day, when you might not have reached your "mark", don't beat yourself up. Instead, say, "Tomorrow's another day, and I have another really good shot at it."

Happy Communicating, today and every day!!

Shelly
​