Have you ever had an experience that changed your life and your vision of the world forever?  I recently did when my husband, Kirk, and George Marciniw of Helitours L.A. conspired to take me on a helicopter tour around the Los Angeles area.  It was, without a doubt, the most awesome experience that exceeded any expectation that I may have ever had.  And although I had been in a 2-seater airplane before which I thought might be comparable, I was totally wrong.

It was a picture-perfect day.  We flew from the Burbank airport, over the Hollywood sign and through the Hollywood Hills and out to the beach at Malibu and along the coast to the Santa Monica pier.  We flew all around the city high rise buildings and saw lots of the most notable venues such as the L.A. Coliseum, Nokia Center, Staples Center, Dodger Stadium and the Griffith Observatory among others.  I got lots of great pictures that I will have forever to remind me of the experience.  But, what I saw that day in my mind’s eye could never be replicated in any photo.

I saw my city in an entirely different way.  It was so gorgeous in its physical state but I felt an essence of spirit and hope that I couldn’t begin to describe. As we traveled around, I continued to feel an excitement that continued to swell within me that whatever any person chooses to do or any path that we elect to follow can lead us to whatever goal we choose.  I felt a new hope for the New Year that 2012 will be the best year ever for all of us and that feeling has continued right into the New Year itself.  I know that this year will be outstanding and I hope that all of you will join me in making it so.

I also wanted to mention that I have gotten many questions about why I have never posted a picture of myself on my website in the 4 years that it has existed.  My response has been that the website is not about me but rather is a place for sharing and helping one another.  But, I also indicated that one day, the right moment would come when I would finally have a reason to post my photo.  Well, today is that day!  The photo that accompanies this blog was taken by Kirk after our tour.  I didn’t even know that it existed for several days after the outing.  However, when I looked at it, I saw in my image the awe and wonder that I had experienced and I  believe that I couldn’t find a better photo to represent not only my experience but also my hope and wishes for all of us in this New Year.

My wish for everyone in 2012 is that every single day is wonderful and special to you and for you.  I also hope that everyone realizes their dreams during this most auspicious year.  Happy New Year everyone!

As I started preparations this morning for the return to work tomorrow for the first time in the New Year, I realized that I felt totally different than any time in my memory.  Now I have never been a big fan of New Year’s celebrations and the belief that the beginning of a new year is some sort of magical new beginning – until now. I feel differently. I am thinking differently.  And I know that this year is going to be something very, very special.  So I decided that this is definitely something that I needed to contemplate to see whether I could figure out why I am feeling this way.

Since Thanksgiving, I have seen a number of my friends experience certain endings in their lives that have allowed for new beginnings that I would never have imagined possible.  I have seen others step up to the plate to help others when I would never have believed that they would do anything for anyone but themselves.  I have watched the interaction among a variety of groups of people where everyone treated each other in a kinder and gentler manner than they have ever done so in the past.  And I looked at my own holiday season and found it to be one of the best ever, not because I received a ton of presents or anything like that but rather I loved the interactions that I had and walked away with a better understanding and appreciation of those who are closest to my heart.

There is something in the air that I can’t explain.  I am seeing people attaining higher levels of satisfaction in their lives because of their hard work and sense of accomplishment that can never come from just more money and/or a promotion.  I see people helping others with an understanding of the others’ needs that have nothing to do with finances.  There is a feeling of “we are all in this together” and we are willing to help in ways that we would never have conceived in the past.  And as we are giving to others, we are receiving such a warm feeling inside that perhaps we have never known before.

For the first time ever, I KNOW that this is a new day, a new year and a new dawning for anyone who chooses to jump on this bandwagon.  I KNOW that each one of us can attain any goal that we wish.  I KNOW that there are many new beginnings available to all of us that we may never even have imagined in the past and I KNOW that if we choose to believe in ourselves and hold on to our hopes and dreams, we can do and achieve absolutely anything that we want this year.  And I KNOW that in our own achievements, if we also choose to help others to reach their goals at the same time, we can make this the best year ever.

So I am sending out to each and everyone of you my wishes that every single one of your dreams is realized in 2010 and also the invitation to you that if there is anything that I can do to help you to achieve those dreams, you only need to let me know and I will do whatever I can to help.  This is going to be one heck of a fabulous year and the best one that we have ever known.

How do you feel about the New year?     COMMENTS.

Every year I start out by making one or more New Year’s resolutions.  And every year, long before we are even half way through, those resolutions are long forgotten.  When they do come to mind, then I feel badly about once again not having succeeded in meeting whatever goals I had set.  I feel like a failure.  So this year, I am not going to make any resolutions and it is not because of my past failures.

When I started to assess my potential resolutions for this year, I suddenly realized that I had not failed in the past but rather tried to set my goals by an artificial date.  There is no way that I know what will come my way in the new year so how can I set real goals now for specifics that have not yet revealed themselves.  Let me give you an example.  I wrote my first blog on January 22, 2008.  At that time, I did not have any particular long-term goal for doing these blogs but somewhere along the way, I decided that it should be a weekly writing and as January 22, 2010 quickly approaches, I anticipate that I will write a blog each of the next 3 weeks to successfully complete 2 full years of writing here each week.

Now to me, that is an accomplishment as I never envisioned myself as a writer and had someone said to me in those early days that I should set a goal of writing every single week, I would probably have been discouraged before I even started.  I would have had no idea that there would ever be enough topics about which I would want to write.  I would have felt so much pressure to come up with something new every 7 days.  But, by doing something for the first time and allowing the process to evolve rather than setting stringent goals, I have been able to do something that I would never have imagined at its beginning.

I think this applies to anything that we wish to accomplish.  If we decide that we want to do something, any day throughout the year is a good starting point.  We may try to do something and find that the method that we employed doesn’t work.  So we have a choice to either give up or find something else that works better for us on a personal level.  For example, you may want to work out more but are so tired of going to the gym and repeating the same exercise routines over and over.  But what may work for you is to go and play a good game of tennis or basketball or some other sport that you enjoy and then what you are doing doesn’t even feel like work.  Or if you don’t feel like you have time to work out or play a game, there are ways to create from your housework or the long hours at the office some meaningful exercises that can effect the changes that you want.

So this year, for the first time, I am going to welcome the New Year with lots of hope and anticipation that I will find the ways to affect the changes that I would like to make in my own life and to find new ways to help others.  And it truly will not matter on what day I reach a goal or if I sustain something for an entire year, just as long as whatever I do makes a positive difference.

Do you have New Years resolutions? COMMENTS