A clean slate…Is it possible to even have one?

Not really unless we plan on going into a witness protection program and changing our identity.

If you’re like me, you were happy to see the wild roller coaster of a ride which was 2016 come to an end.  Many of us did not even buy a ticket for the ride but we got caught up in the news and social media madness just like all the rest. It seemed to me like so much happened so quickly last year, especially near the end.  Not only did we lose famous icons and celebrities, but many of us lost family and friends as well.  On New Year’s Eve I attended my fourth funeral since September and I learned of another tragic loss on New Year’s Day.  Three of the people that I know died of brain cancer…much too young.  Two of them were in their early fifties and the other was only thirteen years old. Such a high number in a small group seems really bazaar to me; makes me wonder about the use of mobile devices as a possible cause. All three of these people still had so much life left to live…and the saddest part is they wanted to live.  World events, especially the election, took a toll on many of us.  Yet in spite of it all there were still the “normal” day to day things that we had to contend with.

I’m sure that some of us woke up on New Year’s Day hoping to leave our 2016 troubles behind; you know…a fresh start, a clean slate.  But unfortunately life doesn’t work that way.  Many of us will continue to wrestle with some of the same old problems and residual emotions well into the New Year.  Some of us will be challenged to move forward with our sadness and broken hearts in tow.  Unfortunately negative and painful emotions are not the kinds of things that we can “New Year’s resolution” away. According to the “experts”, we can move forward and begin making progress once we are able to come to terms with and accept our current situations.  This of course can be a very difficult thing to do especially when it involves some type of loss.  Earlier today I came across this piece of inspiration regarding acceptance and freedom and felt it appropriate to share.

I (the non-expert) also believe that our attitude, faith and gratitude will have a lot to do with how our New Year turns out.

Of course we all know that 2016 was not a total wash.  There was plenty for us to celebrate for sure!  There were weddings and anniversaries, new babies, new homes, new careers, retirements, second and third chances, various personal achievements and lots of other great people, places and things that came into our lives.  The opposite could have been true also in that some people, places and things went out of our lives and that was reason to celebrate too!  Good riddance to bad rubbish! It’s easy to lose sight of these things once we’ve weathered a few storms.  Here’s a favorite saying of mine about storms and rain…

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

That “learning to dance in the rain” is the hard part!

So everyone…here’s to a Happy New Year filled with lots of sunshine, laughter and joyful tears!