Wrapping Up: Time For a New Year

As we move into the hustle and bustle of the holiday week, many of us are running around frantic to wrap up all the details of shopping and cooking for celebrations with family and friends. We are wrapping up deals and projects at work. We are wrapping presents for under the tree. We are busy wrapping up.

As I watch the snow fall outside and blanket the Earth, I am momentarily filled with a tranquil peace. The quiet beauty, as it glistens across the lawn, slows me down and I pause. In all this busyness there is something important to reflect on; we are wrapping up another year in our lives.

What did 2008 bring? Globally, we have seen much strife and discord over our planet and the lines that we have drawn on Her that divide us. In America we saw our country divided on choosing a leader, but choose we did. Moving forward now with change and a new hope for the future. In our communities we have seen the effects of the financial crisis, with loss of jobs and security. And individually each and every one of us has a story of what 2008 brought to us. There was good and bad, challenge and opportunity, benefits and costs. What did the year bring for you? What do you take away from it that brings you joy? What are you ready to let go of and leave behind? And what will the new year bring?

The dawn of a new year. When we begin the year we will all have a very hefty bank account of time to spend. 525,600 minutes to use as we choose. We are all beginning the year rich in opportunity with more than half a million minutes in our accounts. We get to choose to make big changes, little adjustments, important plans and meaningful contributions with our time.

How will you spend yours? That is your choice. Each minute you spend is an investment you make in your life. The return on that investment is largely up to you.