Days of Auld Lang Syne

I wanted to write one more post, in this busy, blurry time between holidays. What words will sum up 2015 for you? In spite of the precarious state of our world (climate, terror, finances, politics), I will offer these:

• Hope. Without hope, we live in a world full of despair. "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. " (Emily Dickinson)
• Remembrance. Many of my friends lost loved ones this year, and whether death was expected or not, there is a loss. Fill it with fond memories. "There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief." (Aeschylus)
• Words. Written or spoken, read or heard, words are powerful. Choose them carefully. "Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble." (Yehuda Berg)
• Challenge. Life is hard! Doing the right thing isn't always easy, it's simply right. "My greatest challenge has been to change the mindset of people. Mindsets play strange tricks on us. We see things the way our minds have instructed our eyes to see." (Muhammad Yunus)
• Warmth. Yes, our planet is heating up. Ice is melting, winter is warm. Do your little part. "Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." (John Muir)

And, as I do each year, here is my favorite performer singing a beautiful song for year's end. Peace.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr-htpPV_Z0