Ok, so its a little late. But as they say, better late than never...

So. What does 2009 have in store for us this year?
Well, for starters America has a new president. That in itself heralds a new change. He might not be as foolish or funny as George Bush. But what the hey. (I will miss those Bush-ism though)...

Given the way the current climate has rained on our financial parade, there will possibly be more turmoil on the economic front. Perhaps however, this will push the world to find more creative and less hedonistic ways of living.

How does this affect us locally? How will this affect globalisation? Food crops, starvation and poverty are on the rise. Even in the developed Western world.

What about war and genocide? from Afghanistan, Middle East, India and Pakistan, and now Gaza, flaring up again ... will ever end? Is peace really attainable? Theoretically, yes, anything is attainable. Realistically, however, that all depends. The sad part is that some of these countries that have been fighting for over 60 years, so why the hell would they suddenly stop now?

This could go either way. It could get better or it could get worse. I guess it all depends on the minds of those involved, politics and how those in power tiptoe around it, and the willingness to want to see those changes.

And how about environmental change? Perhaps all the financial hoo-ha will prompt us to get a little bit more "back to basics" in our style of living, shall we say. Now I'm not talking Fred Flintstone cars, nor people riding bikes to generate enough electricity for us to power our Internet... no.

I'm talking about positive environmental change. Greener ways of living. A way of life that has less impact on the world around us. No matter what your views on the environment, and whether or not you believe there is such a thing as the "greenhouse effect" is absolutely irrelevant.

No matter where you stand on the issue, you'd be ignorant to think that the Western way of life has no impact on our environment at all. We are creatures of commodity, selfishly craving "more, more, more" - as the rate at which we crave things increases exponentially, and we mine our natural resources until they deplete, how can one think that is environmentally healthy?

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Generally during times of distress and upheaval, the sense of optimism in the world prevails. Perhaps the world will learn form its lessons of the recent past and head off anything too devastating. That isn't to say that times won't be hard, or that money won't be tight, but with a little creative adjustment, i think that we could come out the other side better than initially expected.

Call me a positive thinker or an optimist. I will tell you that i am a realist too. But i do believe that the power of positive thought is far more productive. As goes the saying:
You are what you think.

It is true that positive thoughts are far more healthier than negative ones. A positive outlook is more conducive to success, growth and expansion. Positive people are generally more confident and anticipate good outcomes, therefore chasing and attracting more positive things.

Negative attitudes breed fear, insecurity and low-esteem. Thus negative people hold back and attract less than they could or miss out on opportunities through their inaction / fear.

My aims for 2009 are to achieve happiness, success & reward in all areas of life by living creatively and doing what makes me happy. Excelling at it and exceeding my own expectations. yada, yada, yada.

So in 2009. What you expect? What do you fear? What do you hope for? And above all, what will YOU achieve?