Live Your Life on Purpose

While pondering what my New Years Eve blog should be I decided that I wanted to avoid anything too cliche and perhaps focus a bit more on the personal for 2009.

2008 has been a wonderful year for me, perhaps even one of my favourites. It has been a year full of opportunities, adventures and growth, family, fun and friends. In a sense, a near perfect year.

As I gaze upon 2009 there are some thoughts that I have for myself, and one of them is that I would like to be more forgiving. Learning to forgive through out my life has enriched me, my experiences and my relationships in so many ways that I can only be grateful for that first awkward attempt at real forgiveness - an action that brought my best friend of 24 years back into my life after two years of bitterness. All in all I think most people I know would call me fairly forgiving already... but it really is a "work in progress." Just before Christmas I heard a story on the radio about an Amish family who publicly forgave the man who killed their children AND went to his funeral. Knowing what resentment remains in my heart means knowing I have a long way to go to being a forgiving being. I'd like to work on this.

When I think of the people who inspired me in 2008 I find Randy Pausch and Barack Obama topping my list. What I learned from both of these people, for different reasons, was to believe in myself and dare to dream, for if you neglect the dreaming part of life you really can't get where you want to go. My motto for 2009 should be "follow your dreams, they know the way."

The source of my content joy and happiness this year has certainly been my family. We have all grown up in some fashion but have been able to grow together at the same time. Our bonds have grown stronger and that is something I would like to continue building on in 2009. Life has shown me that no matter what else you have going on in life if you don't have your family close to you there is no such thing as true happiness in your heart. This year I got a job that I thought was my dream job and was everything I had been waiting for, but when I saw how much time it was taking away from my family I chose my family. And that should be the case every time: Family First.

As I said so eloquently to Edmonton's Brittney LeBlanc, if I were to describe this year in one word it would be "Change - for good or bad, or perhaps even both, 2008 was about change." Now, as is the result of opportunity that change brings us, 2009 will be clearly what we make of it.

I wish you all a safe and peaceful year in 2009. Happy New Year!