Aspire...

Another year has come and gone and so it is that we change the calendar, make promises to ourselves, believe in superstions and look towards tomorrow a little more hopeful than yesterday because we want to believe that what lies ahead is better than what has already past.  Perhaps it will be and perhaps we still have a few lessons we need to learn in this ever changing life of ours, but one thing is for certain - this year will be different.

Regardless of the economy or the political change that is in the works, these things will always afford us a different perspective on the new year, but for me making a change and seeking a year that is different than the last is part of climbing to get to the next view.  Part of how I do this is to participate in a one word, overarching theme to my year.  It sets the tone and allows me to channel my energies into various directions, but with a singular goal in mind.

My word this year is: ASPIRE.

I find myself haunted by a certain phrase in life that keeps creeping up in the most unexpected places "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  Perhaps this is not a bad problem to be haunted by, but I think what bothers me the most about this is that I truely do not have an answer...I have not found a "label" that I want to be identified as and so I search and seek and enjoy the possibilities that tomorrow I can be something different.  Eventually though, I stop to look back and wonder, what did I do with my life?  What did I accomplish?  What did I leave behind? Pass on to my children?  Did I touch any lives or do anything to make tomorrow better for mankind?

So for me, this year will be about aspiration - the aspiration to be something better than I am today.  To leave something behind for others and know that in my small way, I made a difference.

This year will be different!