You Say You Want a Resolution

Blame it on the astrologer—and a New Year’s Eve full of Beatles records—but I’m engaged in a resolution revolution. I’m asking 100 people to commit to holding only positive thoughts for Michigan, America, and the World, throughout 2009.

The astrologer tells me it is in the stars—that it’s my job to be a lone voice of vision, inspiration and faith in the future; it is my job to uphold and prove the power of positive thought in the thick of a horde of negativism, and that 2009 is an important year for this “talent.”

My first thought was, “Yikes! How am I supposed to do that when I’m surrounded by reports and predictions of doom and gloom?” Seemed kind of a heavy assignment, even for a perennial Pollyanna like me.

Then I received an email from another member of my favorite networking group, Motor City Connect, saying, “I think you’ve been one of the true inspirational leaders in the MCC community with your 6 word challenges and seeming omnipresence in the MCC community. I don’t know how you find the time but you have emerged as a point of positive energy within the community. So keep doing that!”

And, I realized that one of the greatest gifts we can give each other is a simple, often underrated, four letter word: Hope.

Existence is against all odds, according to scientists. Happiness is against all odds, according to pessimists. And yet, existence and happiness “are.” We have all that we need, internally, to make miracles happen in us and around us.

Here is my resolution for 2009:

I resolve to ignore the odds… because predictions for tomorrow based on the beliefs and behaviors of the past don’t factor the immense power of human spirit and passion into the equation.  I’ll be counting every tiny bit of joy, achieving what I need, and supporting the causes that make my heart sing.