SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:

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 in 2008.

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.

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.

The Very Rev’d Canon PETER D. HAYNES is a rector/senior pastor of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Corona del Mar.