Here's to Hope

By Amy MacKinnon

I remember last New Years Eve well. I remember holding fast to those moments before midnight, not wanting to let go of 2008. It wasn't that it had been a stupendous year, though it had its moments, but I knew in my bones 2009 would be a year of pain. And it was.

It seems everyone has suffered through this miserable year. People I know well and hardly at all have lost their investments, their jobs and homes, their health, and, worst of all, loved ones. No one has been untouched. I've had my share of the same and have felt myself grow numb to it all.

What's strange, however, what amazes me, is that few have lost their faith.

I'm not an optimistic person. Not by half. But like so many, I believe 2010 will be a year of magnificence. As the minutes of 2009 tick away, I feel myself grow stronger, far more hopeful. Life will change for the better in 2010, for everyone. Like last year on this day, I feel it in my bones.

Strange thing hope. I suppose believing in it is an act of faith.

For a new day, a new year, a new life, it's a start.