A new year holds so much promise.  It’s the epitome of new beginnings and second chances.  I always buy a new journal to begin the New Year and its empty pages offer hope for the possibilities of the New Year.  Each day I begin again with a clean page, an empty canvas.  And while the events of my outer world may not change, each time I turn the page I have an opportunity to experience my life differently.  I choose the story I will write; I choose how I will experience each day. 

This year I am committed to viewing my failures differently.  I read a statistic about New Year’s resolutions that said, “Four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions will eventually break them. In fact, a third won’t even make it to the end of January”.  I have been that person.  When we break our resolutions we often feel a sense of failure and we may allow our discouragement to dissuade our efforts.  But this isn’t an all or nothing endeavor.  We all will stumble.  It is helpful to see our stumbling not as failure but as a point along the trail where we are handed a mirror and asked to take a closer look.  What we do in those moments define the progress we will make.  As we move through the year and evaluate our progress, we should ask not only how we are doing with our resolve but how is the process changing us.  Have you gained more understanding about yourself or others?  Have you soften through the process?  Have your shortcomings taught you more compassion?  You may find you are transformed in ways you never intended.  Embrace your journey.  Happy New Year.

(thoughts and reflections by Andrea Chinn-Parillo)