On Faith: Revisiting wishes for the New Year
Editor’s Note: As people in Newport-Mesa and Irvine prepare to ring in 2012, the Pilot thought it fitting to reprint this column that appeared under the old “Spiritual Guidance” heading in December 2007.
*
May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your urologist, your orthopedist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the IRS.
May your hair, your teeth, your abs and your stocks not fall; may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol and your mortgage interest not rise.
May New Year’s Eve find you together with your beloved family and cherished friends.
May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much less, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do or see in [the new year].
May you feel God’s pleasure when you play, and may you set yourself at tasks that demand your best efforts when you work.
May your goals lead you to accomplishments that will delight you and satisfy others. May you sense God’s divine embrace when at rest.
May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.
May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you have been watching; and may your checkbook and your budget balance –- and include generous amounts for charity.
May you remember to say “I love you!” at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser, or your tennis or golf instructor.
May those disappointments and failures that are inevitable for human beings lead you into humility. May you remember to daily thank the One who gives you the wonder of life and the mystery of love.
May you find God in persons very different than yourself.
May we help mutual respect grow among all people.
And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God’s love in every sunset, every flower’s unfolding of petals, every baby’s smile, every lover’s kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.
PETER D. HAYNES is the very reverend canon at St. Michael’s & All Angels Episcopal Church in Corona del Mar.