#40: New Year

I wanted to wish you all  a Happy New Year!  We’ve had a great year at work in 2011 but it’s time to look forward to 2012.   As Edith Lovejoy Pierce said: “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”

A special new year prose for the words of wisdom this week…

Recipe for a Happy New Year
By Author Unknown

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancour and hate.  Cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past-have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts.  Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavour of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing- don't do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution.

Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humour.