Happy 2012 to you and yours!  As you forge ahead with the spark of optimism that a new year brings, no matter what circumstances you may find yourselves in, remember this feeling of renewal and pull it out throughout the year.  Every day should feel like this.  Every day should feel like there are endless possibilities on the horizon and within our reach.  Every day should feel like an opportunity to be our optimal selves.  And if you need a little help remembering this feeling, pull out this poem from wherever you should choose to keep it (your mind, your heart, your bulletin board in your office, your journal) and remember:

To Honour Her (Butterfly Wings)

By Taslim Jaffer

Don’t be fooled by the light, airy butterfly

Whose rice paper wings flicker

In the morning breeze.

She transformed her state

In a closed, dark space

And asked for the courage

To fly.

 

Don’t be fooled by her delicate legs

That rest on the white, starry jasmine.

They’ve crawled from the depths

Of a small, dreary place

And push her in the direction

Of heaven.

 

Don’t be fooled by your circumstance or age

Or the voices that say

It can’t be.

Believe in the strength of a tiny, winged creature

And that you have her gift

To fly.

*****

And remember that even your darkest moments that seem to knock you off your feet, may be the very moments that give you wings to fly.