The year 2009 was a challenging year for many. Many of us never thought the recession would unfold as rapidly as it did. Some people lost their loved ones. Others lost their jobs, and consequently their houses. For me it was a year when I discovered the true meaning of the saying, “What will be will be”. It was made clear. We have all experienced challenges this year in various forms. What is unique to all of us is the way we choose to handle it. Most of the things that happened this year were not planned. Nevertheless, it happened anyway and we could not do a thing about it.

Many of us are seeking to control everything. We want to control people’s minds, their money, their images and the list goes on. The sad thing though is that none of us are really in control. We cannot stop many things from happening. But it makes us feel secure to think we are in control of everything. The end result is being out of control. One of the things we can control in the coming year is how we react to everything that is unfolding around us. We can ask ourselves, “How do we escape the negative effects of our capitalist society? How we turn our attention from what we don’t have or have lost to what we do have and need to be grateful for?”

I discovered that many people become control freaks because they are unhappy and are constantly trying to make others unhappy. Life is a lot simpler than most of us believe and happiness is more attainable than most of us know. For most of our lives, we have been trained by our environment to go out there and look for happiness. However, it’s something that should come from inside us.

I have realized that once you are happy, no matter what is going on around you, you will get through it. One of the number one ways to discover happiness is to become grateful for your life. If you continue to search for happiness by comparing ourselves to others, good luck! If you try on your neighbour’s shoes, you may not like how it fits.

So do yourself a favour this year. Do not try to have other people’s lives. Be grateful for your own. Be thankful for the freedom you enjoy, and for the fact that you are alive. Before you start that New Year resolution list that is based on what is out there, just take a day or two and make sure that everything inside is okay.

And by the way, Happy New Year from all of us at Basia Magazine and the Basia Show!­­­­

Alicia John-Powell / Miss Basia