Happy New Year, All of Us!

New Year's Eve is my favorite holiday. Sure, it's a great excuse to party – and I never frown on that. But I love New Year's Eve for reasons way beyond mere drunkenness.

First, it is the rare holiday everyone can celebrate, regardless of nationality or religion or ethnicity. Time, after all, marches on for us all.

Yes, I also love watching the ball drop and singing “Auld Lang Syne” and kissing strangers at midnight. But here is why I really love New Year's Eve: It is the one night of the year for Reflection and Hope. In my book, we don't spend enough time on either. That we set aside one moment to wallow in both is so freaking cool.

This past year certainly saw its share of Tragedy and Sorrow. We lost jobs and relationships, money and opportunities. Wars raged, world leaders stumbled, the economy sputtered.

In the last year, some of our Loved Ones died.

In so many ways, this was just another awful year.

But, you know, this past year wasn't all bad. Some of us did find new jobs and new relationships. Some of us did manage to scrape up another dime and create new opportunities. The world did not end – not even close.

In the last year, some of our Loved Ones were actually BORN!

In spite or because of everything, we survived another year!

Hooray for us!

I do not know what this New Year will bring. Probably, it will have its share of Triumphs and Tragedies, wars and opportunities, its deaths and its births, the Comedy and the Sorrow. Maybe, the next twelve months will turn out to be just another awful year.

Or, maybe not.

Because, tonight, man – oh, the Potential. Ah, the HOPE!

Happy New Year, All of Us!