Earth Lights
In this new year . . . .

I will seek elegance, rather than luxury,
I will seek to be worthy more than to be popular,
I will seek to be wealthy, rather than to be rich,
I will seek refinement more than fashion.
I will think quietly, talk gently, act frankly.
I will listen to stars and birds . . .
And to children and sages . . . with an open heart.
I will allow the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,
To come through the common.

-- William Ellery Channing
Another year lies before us like an unwritten book; the pages, when they
have been completed, will reveal what treasures have been gained in
exchange for our twelve months of time.  -- Esther Baldwin York
The year's end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on,
with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. -- Hal Borland
~  ~  ~
May the 10s and teens treat us all better - and may we
make them better - than the aughts.   -- Phil Plait
An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in.  A
pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  -- Bill Vaughan
~  ~  ~
Ring happy bells across the snow, the year is going...let it go.
-- Lord Tennyson
The course of the Nile
River outlined in lights.
The Florida peninsula, USA;  lights outline the coast.
Western Europe
North Atlantic from Africa up to
Greenland, with the line of the
setting sun dividing the areas
of light and dark.
This image of the earth's city lights is a composite of hundreds of pictures made by the
Meteorological Satellite Program in a study to map the locations of lights on the earth's surface.
Above & below, two views of the "Blue Marble"
from NASA's Visible Earth Collection.
A Prayer for the New Year
by Jane Goodall

We pray that we may be filled with generosity of spirit and true
compassion; that we may grow in our understanding of the nature
of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world.
We pray that we may keep our minds open to new ideas and shun
dogma; that we may value every human being for who he is, for
who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, recognizing the
power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for the victims of violence and war; for those wounded in
body and for those wounded in mind.  We pray for an end to
cruelty to both humans and animals; for an end to hatred and
intolerance in all its forms.  We pray that we may learn to take
nothing for granted in this life, that we may learn to see and
understand with our hearts; that we may rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility.  We pray because of the
hope that is within us.  We pray because of our love for Creation
and because of our trust in God.  We pray, above all, for peace
throughout the world.
.
A happy, healthy, peace-filled and prosperous new year to each of you.
May 2010 bring only the best your way.    Nancy
The images on this page are courtesy of NASA.
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