We have less than five hours to go before we put the year of our Lord 2013 to bed. It has earned its rest.

While it was a productive year, it wasn't as productive as I would have liked it to have been. While I am glad that its over, I don't feel quite as satisfied with the ending. I should have done more. More words should have been written. More pictures should have been taken. More miles should have been traveled. Not enough was read or heard. Not enough was experienced. In the end, not enough was shared.

So as I sit here writing this, I have decided not to make any New Year resolutions concerning how I plan to do better in the coming year. Resolutions are ceremonial, and often do not mean anything days or weeks after they are made or broken. I've decided to make New Year's declarations, instead. Declarations carry enough intent behind them to make things happen. No one ever went to war over a resolution. It means nothing when the resolve is gone. A declaration, however, brings with it white knuckles and gnashing teeth. Titans will clash over declarations.

My declarations may sound like typical resolutions. Lose weight. Write more. Read more. Be more creative. What it comes down to is the attitude required to put the plan into action. Resolutions fail because of bad attitudes that reflect apathy or that fails to find value in the struggle to achieve the goals. A declaration lays everything on the line. At the end of the line one is either a winner or a loser. For the winner there is no end of the line. It is only a turning point where the decision is made to either do it again, or do something different. Either way the line goes on.

We have 364 days to connect the dots with the lines we write in the sand. Each of us will go from A to B to C, while others take more serendipitous paths to their personal victories. Where ever we end up on Day 365, staring at the final hours of the year of our Lord 2014, let's make sure the year has earned its rest and we come away happy with a greater sense of accomplishment.

Happy New Year

James H.
Bangkok, Thailand
Dec. 31, 2013 to Jan. 1, 2014