A New Year Message Useful to Everyone!

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Ann Landers New Year Message, Washington Post, January 1, 2001, Page C11

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Dear Readers:

 

If some lines in today's column sound vaguely familiar, you have a good

memory. They appeared in this space last year. Not much about New Year's Day

has changed, so thank you for allowing me to loaf a little.

 

Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the

things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time.

 

Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some

pleasant memories. Share a funny story with someone whose spirits are low. A

good laugh can be very good medicine.

 

Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Pay a debt. Free

yourself of envy and malice. Encourage some youth to do his or her best. Share

your experience and offer support. Young people need role models.

 

Make an effort to stay in closer touch with family and good friends. Resolve

to stop magnifying small problems and shooting from the lip. Words that you

have to eat can be hard to digest.

 

Find the time to be kind and thoughtful. All of us have the same allotment:

 

24 hours a day. Give a compliment. It might provide someone with a badly

needed lift.

 

Think things through. Forgive an injustice. Listen more. Be kind.

 

Apologize when you realize you are wrong. An apology never diminishes a

person. It elevates him or her. Don't blow your own horn. If you've done

something praiseworthy, someone will notice eventually.

 

Try to understand a point of view that is different from your own. Few things

are 100 percent one way or another. Examine the demands you make on others.

 

Lighten up. When you feel like blowing your top, ask yourself, "Will it matter

a week from today?" Laugh the loudest when the joke is on you.

 

The sure way to have a friend is to be one. We are all connected by our

humanity, and we need each other.

 

Don't discourage a beginner from trying something risky. Nothing ventured

means nothing gained. Be optimistic. A can-do spirit is the fuel that makes

things go.

 

Go to war against animosity and complacency. Express your gratitude. Give

credit when it's due—and even when it isn't.

 

Read something uplifting. Deep-six the trash. You wouldn't eat garbage, why

put it in your head? When courage is needed, ask yourself, "If not me, who? If

not now, when?"

 

Take better care of yourself. Remember, you're all you've got. Pass up that

second helping. You really don't need it. Vow to eat more sensibly. You'll

feel better, and look better, too.

 

Don't put up with secondhand smoke. Nobody has the right to pollute your air

or give you cancer. If someone says, "This is a free country," remind him or

her that the country may be free, but no person is free if he has a habit he

can't control.

 

Return those books you borrowed. Reschedule that missed dental appointment.

Clean out your closet. Take those photos out of the drawer, and put them in an

album. If you see litter on the sidewalk, pick it up instead of walking over

it.

 

Give yourself a reality check. Phoniness is transparent, and it is tiresome.

Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of nature. A flower is God's miracle.

 

Walk tall and smile more. You'll look 10 years younger. Don't be afraid to

say, "I love you." Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. If

you have love in your life, it can be the best year ever.

 

To find out more about Ann Landers and read her past columns, visit the

 

Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

 

©2001, Creators Syndicate Inc.