"A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other."
– Author unknown
It’s been a beautiful last day of 2004. It snowed over the last 24 hours or so, which made everything kind of sparkle in the sunlight. It looked like the trees were laden with little prisms that changed color when the sun hit them from different angles.
Now, a new year stretches out before us. Here’s a new chance to test your resolve and to make this year better than the last. With the excuse of "it’s the holiday season" behind us now, it’s time to think once again about dieting, exercise, career development, and other forms of elusive self-control.
Although January 1st is a somewhat arbitrary point in Earth’s whirl around the sun to call the "new year," it’s good to have a moment in our busy lives that’s dedicated to retrospection, introspection, and with any luck, anticipation. Realistically, every day is the first day of the rest of your life. However, life’s everyday details often keep us from spending much time considering the big picture.
For little ole Sandpoint, 2004 is the year we got "discovered." National media like Outside magazine and Forbes noticed our corner of Idaho. The short article in USA Today pointed out that the resulting inevitable growth is going to result in changes. And I doubt I’m the only one who is a little worried that not all of those changes will be good.
But this year could be the year that you form a realistic goal and achieve it. And for Sandpoint, it could be the year that we all do our part to make it an even better place to live. As with the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play!