
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” -Plato
“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” ~John Boyton Priestley
Don’t you love that life is full of second, third, fourth, fifth chances

and even more if we need them? The Universe seems to be continually encouraging us to get it right.
New Year’s Eve can be a time to let go of the things that have not served us well, or have held us back in the old year. Some traditions hold a “burning bowl” ceremony where everyone writes down one thing they are ready to let go of and then the individual pieces of paper are actually burned. There is a profound sense of release that takes place as the paper burns.
So what is holding you back this year?
I release and let go of the things that have held me back and move into the new year with love, peace and gratitude. And so it is. Thank you God.

“In every moment you have the option to choose peace for yourself.” — Dr. Wayne Dyer
Please join me tomorrow on the eve of another New Year by praying for peace in the world, but first in our hearts. If there is a Peace Vigil or World Peace Meditation in your community please join with your friends and neighbors in praying for peace. Of course you can also do this on your own. Some people actually welcome the New Year with prayer and meditation at midnight while others join in the World Peace Meditation at noon GMT. For some of us this means getting up in the wee hours of the morning but is well worth making the effort.
“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

Can you still have fun on New Year’s Eve without alcohol? You bet. This year consider serving non-alcoholic beverages at you holiday party.
Make a Baby Bellini by starting with two ounces of peach nectar in a champagne flute. Fill with sparkling white grape juice, sparkling apple juice, or seltzer.
For a Pomegranate Fizz begin with pomegranate juice and a little lime juice in a champagne flute. Fill with sparkling white grape juice or sparkling apple juice and garnish with a lime slice.
Non-Alcoholic Wine or Champagne is made by combining grape juice with sparkling water, sparkling apple juice or your favorite lemon-lime soda.
Be sure to have water available. Slices of lemon or lime are a nice touch.
Have fun celebrating the New Year but remember friends don’t let friends drive drunk.
“Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.”— Gilda Radner
A musical celebration to enjoy this Christmas Day.

“Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in spite of human failure.
Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness.
Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts.
And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.” –— Frank Borman, Apollo 8 space mission, 1968