DESCRIPTION:
Update December 31, 2021 (Tonga Standard Time): I created this post 10 years ago! (CLICK ON "Show More" for the Annual Update!) Thank you so much to all of you who choose to stop by and read this annual update. I am deeply humbled by and profoundly grateful. Thank you for the 10 years of well wishes and comments. I actually read them all.

New Year’s Eve is a moment to reflect upon the year that has passed and the hopes we place in the year to come. 2021 continued to present humanity with global challenges from the pandemic to impacts of global warming to political and social strife. But we can also choose to look for the positives and be grateful for what we have and what we hold dear in our lives. Positive milestones also occurred in 2021. For example, last year saw the largest annual generation of renewable energy (per the International Energy Agency), China was declared to have eliminated malaria (down from 30 million cases in 1940) and the Great Resignation allowed people to find a balance in their lives.

Auld Lang Syne has stayed in our collective consciousness for over 200 years because it is about connection with others. The kind of connection that binds you to someone forever: loyalty, friendship, kindness, love; even though that person might not be with you anymore. As I write this, 5.4 million souls have passed from the earth due to the pandemic. We pause to remember them and honor of their memory. Auld Lang Syne is also about the human spirit’s ability to hope for the future while enduring rough times by remembering the precious human attributes of friendship, connectedness with our fellow humans, kindness and love.

We will continue to face many challenges in 2022. I pray that we are near the end of this pandemic. As we move to the New Year remember to “Look for the helpers. There will always be helpers… Because if you look for the helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope.” (Said a sage for the ages).

So, my friends, as we look toward 2022, I encourage you to be the helpers. You to be the hope. Reach out to your fellow humans: lift them up when they are down, encourage them when they feel defeated, help them see the light of beauty and gratitude when they are lost in the darkness of despair. As we say goodbye to 2021 and enter the new year of 2022, please remember to take a cup of kindness for the days of Auld Lang Syne.

PLEASE POST: To celebrate 10 years of community of people who share New Year's Eve through this post together, please post your salutation and something you are grateful for or some word of encouragement to others.

Wishing everyone a blessed, healthy, and peaceful 2022! Live life to the fullest and leave only love in your wake.