Like many people, I have been doing some self-examining with the arrival of the new year. Things like, what do I want to accomplish with my writing during 2011, and in what form? Short stories, poetry, essays, a novel even? All my ideas are proving hard to pin down. So, I decided to just let the Universe guide me. Today I will concentrate on completing an article that hopefully will change some minds about the dangerous practice of hydrofracturing. Mother Earth needs our support if she is to continue supporting us! I want my words to help change the world for the better. I want to hand over a healthy planet to my grandchildren and, in the process, teach them sustainability and respect for the blessings of living on a world that can sustain us if we would only treat it right. That, to me, is part of the lesson of living here, and I want to do my part, to use my words in a way that makes people stop and think about our future. Please join me in opening eyes, minds and hearts to the preservation of our Mother Earth!

Regardless of your religious denomination, this is a beautiful time of year, isn’t it? The air literally hums with anticipation at office parties and in shopping malls as we prepare for this holy celebration. As I don’t follow any particular faith tradition, I like to think of Christmas and New Year’s as a time for reflection on the year just passed and the possibilities offered by the new one poised to begin. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Mother Earth rests up for the work she must do come spring, offering the bounty that sustains us on our individual earthly paths. What better way to apply the message of Jesus to our lives than to respect the gifts He has given us: the gift of life, the gift of family and friends and the gift of a planetary home that provides us with everything we need.

I’m so blessed with a wonderful family, friends, a roof over my head and food to eat. My hope for 2011 is that living conditions improve for the millions of people caught in a cycle of endless poverty and hunger and that the gap between the haves and have nots narrows to nothing. Yes, I know that that’s wishful thinking, but I can still hope. May you have a blessed 2011, dear reader!