Recipe for a Happy New Year

Did you have a good time last night? I'm whispering in case you overdid the partying and imbibed a little too much of the bubbly.

Everything okay, then? Well, let's get on with 2010, which just has to be better than 2009...it could hardly be worse. Actually, for me 2009 wasn't all that bad, if you omit discussion of the twisted, smoking wreckage of my retirement savings and my seething rage over the despicable conduct of our elected reprehensives. I'm still healthy, I still have four (soon to be five) wonderful grandchildren, and I'm still married to the world's greatest lady (she has gone another year without killing me in my sleep). I got reacquainted with some great old and new friends from my high school class at our 40th reunion, enjoyed a nice vacation with Agnes, and discovered a great new author in Rennie Airth. So for me, things aren't bad.

But what can we do to help 2010 get off on the right foot, besides building a wall 500 feet high and 100 feet thick around the entire Middle East (including Somalia, while we're at it), filling the area thus enclosed to the top with sand, and starting over?

Yesterday in her wonderful blog, Miss Cellania offered this Recipe for a Happy New Year, which is probably worth trying out. After all, nothing else seems to work, as The Golden Rule seems to be utterly ignored by Congress, the financial mismanagement industry, Islamist radicals, and posturing political buffoons of all sorts...

Recipe for a Happy New Year

Take twelve, fine, full-grown months,
see that these are thoroughly free from all old memories of bitterness, rancor, hate and jealousy;
cleanse them completely from every clinging spite:
pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness;
in short, see that these months are freed from all the past;
have them as fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts.
This batch will keep for just one year.
Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot in this way), but prepare one day at a time, as follows:

Into each day put twelve parts of faith,
eleven of patience,
ten of courage,
nine of of work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest),
eight of hope,
seven of fidelity,
six of liberality,
five of kindness,
four of rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad, don't do it),
three of prayer,
two of meditation,
and one well selected resolution.

put in about a teaspoonful of good spirits,
a dash of fun,
a pinch of folly,
a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Pour in lots of love, mix with vigour.
Cook thoroughly in a fervent heat; garnish with a few smiles and a sprig of joy;
then serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness,
and a Happy New Year is certain.

Try it out and let me know how it turns out for you. As recipes go, this one sounds pretty good.

Happy New Year! More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo