'Tis the Season - Always

This time of year is very special for so many reasons.  There is a different feel in the air -- even in Central Florida, where right now it is a balmy 80 degrees!  It is a time of preparation and a time of charity.  It is a time to take stock of the year coming to a close and starting planning for the next.  I often wish that one could bottle this feeling and sprinkle the "goodwill towards men (and animals)" throughout the year.

It takes so little to make a positive difference in another person's life -- or an animal's life -- and often it doesn't take much:  a smile, a kind word, a giving gesture. 

The best leaders are those that have the gift of empathy and of connectedness -- we want to follow them!  A personal challenge to myself is to better exercise those empathy muscles, starting now and into the coming year.  We can all make this world a much better place by treating those around us (human and animal) with dignity and respect, with kindness and compassion -- with genuine caring.

Living these traits can ripple and effect great change.  Just look at leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., or Nelson Mandela -- what enormous changes they made by embracing forgiveness, kindness, and compassion.  Maybe you are not out to change the WHOLE world, but how about working to change YOUR world for the better.

That is my resolution for the coming year.

From River and from me, all the magic and blessings of the Season and wishes for a very kind and compassionate 2014!