Happy New Year, 2011!

I may not know you personally, but I want you to have a good year.

Why?

If everybody is having a good time, it’s easier for the rest of us to get by - to have a good life. A good first day is a good start, but most of us that celebrate ushering in the new year in with alcohol might want to wait until the second day… at any rate, the best part is having others look you in the eye and wish you well. Really. What could be better? That’s the best. Who wouldn’t want to be accepted by everyone in their world?

Many of us spend our lives trying to get someone… anyone, to pay attention to us. Each of us has something to offer, but not all of us get the results we want.

But maybe I am projecting and it’s just me. I love people; love to talk to them, learn about them, participate with them, do things for them. Maybe you’d call me a ‘party person’ but I think of myself as a ‘people person’, and I think the people that I am with now would agree; We have eaten, sung, danced and talked to each other for hours. We’re down to cards and drinks and custom requests for favourite music. Sometime the conversations move into the esoteric of aliens and ancient taboos or rush into the political arenas of the day. I love it all, and I find myself wishing this for everybody. I get a bit choked up… a bit tearful. Suddenly I realize it feels too much like a broken heart. What is this love for mankind that makes me feel painful joy?

Well, I’m not going to labour too long over the question - not on the first day of the rest of our lives.

Happy 2011!