A new 365

Each year has gone by too quickly and I wonder today if I have lived life to the fullest. Perhaps at times I complain too much about my life that I overlook the fact that there are many unfortunate events taking place in other parts of the world. Thinking back to my encounter with the Catholic priest who had conducted our pre-marital lessons, he said he woke up each morning and felt thankful that he had a warm bed to sleep on and a house to live in. How often do I think of things like this?

Instead of coming up with a list of things, my resolution for 2006 is just to appreciate things and people around me more and live a more genuine life. I don't know if it may sound strange to some of you, but I have been observing my dog Milo and he is so innocent, transparent, genuine, and grateful for little things. I just wish human beings could function more like dogs!

I have encountered certain things that do not directly relate to me but have caused me to feel uneasy. When it comes to divorce, one party will feel more hurt than the other but if it has to be done, it has to be done. There may be a hundred over factors that may perplex both parties and affect their decision but please do not let the reason be because they do not want to be the topic of gossip amongst relatives or friends who have nothing better to do with their lives. When it comes to pre-marital sex, it should not be used as a judgement tool for a person's upbringing or moral values. It just never fails to annoy me to hear people say, "oh, they shouldn't be doing that because it will look bad on the family." Why do people care so much about what others think of them? Surely, I would want to think that my life is not merely a movie where people are given forms to fill and give ratings after they watch it. In short, a lot of things that bothered me the past year was because people I care about often end up making stupid decisions because they are too worried about what others will say or think of them. I am of course not perfect and will be working on becoming a better human being in 2006.