With New Year’s Day less than 24 hours away, I’m finding it difficult to believe that the end of yet another year—and another decade—is upon us. I blinked and 12 months whizzed by.

It’s been a good year. Lots of goals met (and failures accepted). Many cherished family visits (and tearful goodbyes). Plenty of delicious new recipes made (and miserable flops dumped in the trash).

I’ve learned this year to take the good with the bad, the successes with the failures. While I haven’t quite mastered the balance yet, the perfectionist side of me has learned to take a back seat at times and let life lead where it will. When everything isn’t planned, when all the ducks aren’t in a row, I’ve discovered that sometimes the journey is far more beautiful in it’s unpredictabilty.

Rarely is a year untarnished by sadness or pain. This one has had it’s low points, I’ll admit. But I love it when, at the of a year, you think back on the past 12 months and the high points far outshine the low ones. That’s exactly how this year has been for me. As I reflect on 2010, the happy moments leap into the front my my mind boldly and brightly, taking center stage.

Sitting here in my office, reflecting on the past year and dreaming of the future, I can feel my heart swell with a warm, uplifting feeling. Some sort of hybrid between joy over what has been and a deep, throbbing hope of what is to come.

I don’t know exactly what 2011 has in store for me. At the beginning of last year, the idea of that vast and shadowy unknown stretching across the next 365 days would have frightened me. But today, with another year of growth under my belt and a whole new set of experiences tucked away in my pocket, excitement overshadows the fear.

It’s true: 2011 could be a year filled with unwelcome twists in the journey, with failures outweighing the successes, with dreams being laid aside. But if I never take risks, how will I ever reap the benefits of them paying off? If I never strive to succeed, how will I ever experience the joy of success? And if I never dream, how will I ever have  a dream come true?

I’ve discovered this year that life—with it’s crazy ups and downs, triumphs and challenges, bright spots and dark ones—is only as difficult as we make it. No matter what you or I face in the next year—or the next decade, for that matter—the attitude with which we approach our lives makes all the difference. I didn’t fully understand this last year, but these days I’m learning more and more that a change in perspective, a subtle shift in outlook, can turn our worlds around.

And that’s something to celebrate. So with a new year dawning, aglow with possibility and hope and dreams yet to come true, enjoy a healthy spritzer to usher it in.

Here’s to another year rich with personal growth and wonderful memories, where each day brings us deeper contentment and fuller joy than the one before it.

Happy New Year! See you in 2011.

Fruity & Festive Spritzers

Makes 3 ¼ cups (about four 6 ½ ounce spritzers)

Use your favorite unsweetened fruit juice in this recipe, preferably organic. I used Lakewood Organic Blueberry Blend for the spritzers in the photograph. To garnish the spritzers, I used slices of blood oranges, but strawberries or tangy grapefruit slices would be equally eye-appealing.

 

2 cups unsweetened 100% fruit juice, preferably organic

1 ¼ cups sparkling water

Orange slices, grapefruit slices, or whole strawberries (for garnish)

1. Refrigerate the juice and sparkling water for several hours or until thoroughly chilled.
2. In a pitcher, combine the chilled juice and water and divide among glasses.
3. Garnish as desired and serve.