Happy New Year

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.

-Helen Keller

We’ve come to the end of another year, a time when many of us, determined to better ourselves, compile a long list of New Year’s Resolutions. Very often, these resolutions include lofty and nearly unrealistic goals and are unintentionally based in a great deal of shame.

Perhaps we could approach this New Year a bit differently, choosing, as Helen Keller noted, to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.

But, what makes something great and noble?

It is not the nature of the act itself that makes it great and noble, but rather the intention that is brought to the act. If our intention is to bring peace and love into the world, to be present and mindful, we can turn anything into a great and noble act: having a cup of tea, standing in line at the post office, making lunch for our children, driving to work, taking a walk, even breathing.

These small acts can transform us, our world, and those around us. They can help us see beauty in the mundane, sacredness in the ordinary, and peace in simplicity.

So, perhaps this New Year, rather than making a long list of great and noble tasks to achieve, you can look around you, at the people and situations in your life, and embrace each moment as an opportunity to do great and noble things.

I wish you a very Happy and Joyous New Year!

Blessings