2011 Bring it on!

          That's right, 2010 is gone and aren't you glad?  So many problems affecting everything we do and love.  Making so many sacrifices to keep what we have.  Selling off precious heirlooms, 401k's, collectibles and what ever else may contain some sort of value just to maintain our ability to live.  Turning down the heat that you can see your breath and feel a cold breeze across the floor.  Giving up that vacation timeshare or any kind of vacation at all for the sake of paying bills.  Dodging the repo-man, tax collector, debt assessor or who ever else wants what you don't have.  Afraid to open the mailbox or answer the phone.  Getting nervous every time a strange vehicle pulls up to the front of your house.  These are all things that all too many of us have had to face some time in our lives.  We work long hours or multiple jobs to make ends meet and they only get further apart. 

          I have been there with that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Dreading every day, wandering how it will all work out.  Over extending myself thinking I can make this work and when there was finally light at the end of the tunnel, some catastrophic event would drag me back down.  The worst is when you feel that you have a handle on the situation and BAM, you are hit with several unexpected bills.  Car repairs, home repairs, medical expenses or maybe just things that finally wore out and need to be replaced.  Timing is everything and it is sometimes hard to determine what lies ahead.

          I for one believe that this year has more promise then any other in the past.  The last decade gave us many challenges but yet here we are.  We survived, persevered and although we struggled, we have found our way to another year.  Even if you have not hit rock bottom, I'm sure you know someone that has.  Our children are growing up in one of the worst finance crisis's since the Great Depression.  Even though no one wants to admit it, we have experienced another depression.  Mass layoffs and job loss's, foreclosures and repossessions have made every day life a literal nightmare for millions all around the world.  Winter is a rough time for this kind of occurrence.  The gray, cloudy skies cast a dim view of the world outside.  Gloom and doom are the thoughts of the day with no chance of sun until the spring months.  Isn't it that the sun shines brightly after a devastating storm?  It comes out with all it's brilliance and shines down, renewing the world with hope and warmth.

          I had mentioned in an earlier blog that hope is a joy best shared.  The new year always starts out with great joy and hope for the future.  It is a mind set and as long as we focus on the day being bright even if it's cloudy, nothing can take away that hope.  I have faced many challenges and seen the miracles that occur.  Faith and belief connect us to a greater good which move us towards our goals.  Don't let the world get you down or ruin your chances to achieving you goals and dreams.  Keep those new year's resolutions close to your heart and make them all a reality this year.  Be destined for greatness, with true purpose you will discover your success from within.