Another year...another day.

What does it all mean? We look forward to a new year -- a new chance at new beginnings. Last year really sucked. You went further into debt; the kids got older, wanted cars; the company you work for streamlined. You kept your job but now have more work at the same wage. Don't you just love it? But, it's now 1998. This year will be different. You will finally get out of debt. The kids are closer to moving out, at least you hope. You got heartbroken in 1997 but in 1998 you will meet Mr. or Ms. Right, or, give up on meeting anyone. You have hopes and dreams that we all tend to attach with the turning of the year.

As you are sitting there, stop, take a deep breath and re-read the paragraph above. Now, tell me, is that really all life is about? Is that all that went on in 1997?

What about the young man that stopped in the pouring rain to help you load stuff into your car; just because? What about that flower that bloomed even after the kids trampled through the garden? How about that child's laughter that made you smile? Have you watched the clouds lately? Have you looked up at the sky at night? What about that sunset? Did you see it? Or were you too caught up in how terrible your life is?

You want 1998 to be better than all the years before yet, are you going to stop for those moments to just be? To see the sunset, to see the moon, to feel the breeze or the rain falling on your head. Are you going to try to be friendly to strangers even if they don't seem to be "as good" as you? If not, well, then your life is going to be much the same as it is now and has been in the past. Nothing will never change because you never change. Sure, none of it pays the bills, fixes your relationships, or gets the work done, but it does help you. It gives you a moment of escape from the hectic monotony of life. It renews peace within yourself. If you think that is a silly idea then ask yourself this -- why does it seem the people who have the wealth, the prestige, the fame, kill themselves? Have you ever tried to figure out why? They have everything that you're looking for.

The people who make it through life's crises, tell you it's the simple things that mean the most. The friend you can trust, the lover who stood by you, (that is if they survived your hell), the hometown you come from. If there is not peace and hope to look forward to then there is nothing but hectic monotony.

Life comes and goes and if you do not -- as they say "Stop and smell the roses", life just continues without meaning. You say, "I don't have the time!". You don't! That is, and always will be, true. Time goes on, passes us by, never once stopping to see what we are doing with it, not even caring if we wasted, lived it, or just let it pass. Time has its own path to follow. It is up to us to find the time to make "life" more important then "things." After all, time takes it away. The child that we never saw grow up. The wife/husband that we never took the time to say, "thanks for being there". The entertainer/musician/artist/author who we never took the time to say, "That was great! I really enjoyed it!". We get too caught up in our trivial daily existence to realize even people we see as successful may need that moment of "thanks," to show that all their hard work mattered to someone.

In her poem in this issue, Barbara Oswald tells us about Peace on Earth. Peace starts with you, in the immediate world around you. It carries over into everything you do. Why not really make a difference in 1998 and start working towards peace. Peace in your family, peace where you work, peace where ever you go. Plant the seed. Let it grow!

--Lynn Beck, Literary Editor. Lynn is currently busy playing with her new puppy and counting the days until spring! LBeckWorld homepages