Some Thoughts About New Years

In a few hours, the clock will tick midnight as it does every twenty-four hours but tonight is different. As the numbers on my clock flip from 11:59 to 12:00 humans will pop the corks on champagne bottles, shoot off noise makers, light fireworks, sing songs and in general make a big fuss of this thing they call New Years.

Canines in general don’t celebrate the flip of the calendar to a new year. We canines tend to think more in terms of seasons and events rather then days. For example, dogs celebrate the arrival of springtime. There’s no specific day we celebrate but when the air warms and the scents in the air change from those of the winter to the freshness of spring we celebrate the rebirth of nature. Spring seems to be something to celebrate, the cold snows of winter have renewed the grass, the trees and flowers come to life with new buds and the entire planet seems to renew itself. It’s a time of renewal and that gives us canines a reason to celebrate being alive to participate. To me it seems that humans would be better served if they celebrated things like spring rather then the flip of a calendar page.

Oh, I know what humans say, a new year a new beginning. You celebrate what was accomplished in the old year; make resolutions and plans for the new one. I’ve heard it all from the humans I know. However, in fact, that’s not what most humans do today as the year is ending.

No human I know sits in retrospect about what he or she has accomplished in his or her life. At midnight, they don’t pause to remember all those they’ve helped, or those they were too busy to care about. They don’t lift their glasses to self improvement, or to improving the lives of others. Many will make resolutions to loose weight, or spend more time with their family, or get a new car or be a better person. However, most of those are forgotten before the calendar has flipped to January 2 and humans go back to their lives as they were before the New Year arrived. It all seems pointless to us canines, it seems like there should be a better thing for humans to celebrate.

So, if your human is getting ready to go out and party this old year out while making resolutions about what they'll do or not do in the new one consider these New Year Resolutions from a dog:

1)I resolve to be kinder and more tolerant of things I don’t understand, and I resolve to learn about those things so I am not blinded by my ignorance.

2)I resolve to share more of myself with others. For this I don’t need money, or power or even much time. I will share my smile with strangers as I walk down the street. I can share a wag of my tail with someone I don't know. I resolve to be kinder to the mailman and the UPS guy and not bark at them when they come to the door.

3)I resolve to understand the meaning of the word “peace”. (Most humans think they know what that word means, but go look it up in the dictionary and find out). Peace comes from strength, personal strength to tolerate others, financial strength to provide the basic needs of others as well. Peace of mind comes from understanding what is really important in life, and obtaining it. Peace isn’t about not making war it’s about ending ignorance.

4)Finally,  I resolve to stop and celebrate the little things that I've been given. Food, shelter, family, friends, a home, toys, treats, whatever I have in my life. I will be thankful for what I have and for those who make my life possible.

So there, you have it, my last blog of the year. To all my readers I say thanks for reading! I mean hey, who would have thought that me, a dog would hit 10,000? Well, thanks for reading and thanks for making my blog number one on Pro Blogs.

One final thing, please, you humans who are going to party hardy tonight do it responsibly and don’t drink and drive! Hey, I want you around to read my blog in 2007.

TO HUMANS EVERYWHERE …. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

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