The New Year starts today

How tough and rough the winter holidays can be... All the merriment so cunningly induced by marketing strategies, the shopping craze, the relentless carols and ballads nagging at our guts from every speaker... The endlessly disappointed expectations.

And yet, how sweet and precious the winter holidays are. To find a glimpse of true joy under all of the above, to pay, even for a fleeting moment, that joy forward to those around us... To receive, above all else, the time, the kind words, the good advice, the love and the support of those who matter... No marketing strategy can ever kill or take over such gifts. Under the sparkly and shiny thin layer that covers who I really am and what I want there is depth and courage, reason and soul. And for the greatest gift of all, I am reminded of this by the beautiful people around me. They hold up mirrors of faith and love and remind me what I'm worth. I bask in gratitude.