Happy New Year's Eve

New Year's Mistake

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before and more importantly, you're Doing Something.”

                                        Neil Gaiman

So, it's New Year's Eve, that day of the year when we humans do a lot of truly crazy stuff—like drink too much and get behind the wheel of a car. It's also a day when we make resolutions about what we'll do next year, starting tomorrow, that we didn't do this year—like not drinking too much and getting behind the wheel of a car. When Southerners are trying to say something nice about something really stupid, we say, “Bless her heart, she means well.” This is not one of those occasions. Drinking and driving cannot be categorized as well-meaning.

Most of the time, I agree with Neil Gaiman that when we make mistakes, at least we're trying something new, and willing to bump our noses a few time to get it right. But this is not one of those times. Here's a statistic for you: “Compared to the average weekend night, the 12-hour period between 6 p.m. on December 31, and 6 a.m. on January 1, tends to have 71% more crashes where alcohol or drugs are listed as a contributing factor.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

So, if you are making mistakes, make the right kind of mistakes—the ones that indicate that you are trying new things, and challenging yourself to do what you've never done before. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are the one person who can drink and drive and nothing bad will happen. That's a delusion—not a mistake.

I wish for you a very happy New Year's eve—and a safe and prosperous 2014. Go out there and change your world!

                                             In the Spirit,

                                                 Jane