What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared
to what lies within Us

I work very close to Toronto's Dundas Square...which I can actually see from my office window. That, in turn, is in close proximity to Nathan Phillips Square. Another place where the masses will gather to celebrate the new year.

I'm kind of old for those kinds of festivities...or maybe I'm just plain tired out from what has to have been one of the worst years of my life. However, this New Year's Eve, I will celebrate in my own way. With lit candles, a pizza delivery, time to talk with an old friend and neighbour (whom I met in the stair well on my way to church one Sunday morning 10 years ago!). And maybe I'll contemplate the true meaning of life...

For all of its ups and downs (and this past year, there were many downs indeed), this year has provided me with a rare clarity. On the choices I've made...many of them oddly out of synch with my character...about letting go of past regrets...But, most importantly, about where I go from here.

For the first time in a long time, I have a clarity of vision as to what my life could become. How did I come by this? I guess I took my own advice and just...listened. To the still small voice. To the narrative voice in my head. To echoes of what friends have told me in the past.

So, for once I feel like I know where I'm going, if not precisely how I will get there. And maybe that's kind of the way it should be with matters of faith. Your well laid plans often blow up in your face, to uncover a way that is infinitely better for you.

A friend recently asked me why I go to church every Sunday. The answer was simple. I really need to. Without the warm embrace of the community within my church, without hearing the message of hope, without the weekly celebration of all that is good in this world...I'm sure I'd give in to despair.

For all of you this new year's, I wish you the gift of faith and community. The realization that you're never on this journey on your own. That there is always someone there to listen to you, to give you advice, to light your way. All you really have to do is ask...and it will be given. Of course, for many of us, the asking is the hardest part because it means that you don't have all of the answers, that you can't make it on your own. But once you admit that, endless possibilities open up for you.