Ask yourself if the grudges you hold and the bad memories you retain within are worth the cost of not enjoying the camaraderie of those sitting with you today, creating new memories, as they will be gone one day, either because of death or simply due to the course of life, that separates and divides, and takes us elsewhere. Keeping in mind all I have stated thus far, I ask that you take a moment to reflect upon how you wish to have the year unfold. Those reading this, I am sure, also feel as I do about the advent of a new year and look forward to what it may bring into their lives. With many, I carry forward to this day their loving and nurturing attributes and the memories of their embraces and words of encouragement. Sadly, some departed with lessons of how not to be. Despite their human failings, as we all have, they enriched my life uniquely, with some more than others influencing me. Having just recently experienced the loss of the second parent, my father, making me an orphan, I also reflect upon relatives and friends no longer physically part of my world, causing me to fondly look back upon family gatherings from the shadows of the past. While the memories of a time gone by still burn brightly in my brain, new ones yet to be identified await in the wings to join the ranks of those that are now but shadows residing in my inner consciousness. Many folks seem to dread the advent of a new year and the passing of time, but I have come to accept that time passes quickly by us and look forward to the opportunities of a new year. As I sit and reflect upon the new year that recently arrived, I anxiously await what it will bring.

Ring side boxing