2012 -

A YEAR OF SO MUCH POTENTIAL -

READY TO GO! TIME TO CHALLENGE THE WORLD! PROGRESS. LOTS AND LOTS OF PROGRESS. TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS. TAKE THE LEAD. STARE FEAR IN THE EYE. BITE THE BULLET. PAY THE BILLS!!!!!

AS FOR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS, THERE'S ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS. A WILLINGNESS TO CARRY-ON, AND CHALLENGE THOSE THINGS THAT NEED OPPOSITION….REQUIRE STANDING-UP TO, AND HOLY GRAILS THAT NEED TO BE UNCOVERED…..AND CARRIED FORTH.

I HOPE EVERYONE WHO READS THIS, AND THOSE WHO MIGHT EVENTUALLY FIND IT ONLINE, HAS LESS OF A HANGOVER, THIS MORNING, AND MORE AMBITION TO DEAL WITH THE REALITIES OF A BRAND NEW YEAR. AND WE STARTED OFF WITH AN EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN……AND HOPEFULLY THAT WON'T MEAN A REPEAT OF LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY. BUT IT IS A CLEAR INDICATOR, THAT THERE IS NO INSULATION FROM THE WAYS OF THE WORLD……THE GLOBAL REALITIES OF FEAST AND FAMINE, PARADISE AND NATURAL DISASTER WITHIN SECONDS OF ONE ANOTHER.

WE ARE NOT INSULATED HERE IN MUSKOKA. WE ARE NOT SO DISTANT TO CALAMITIES, TO SAY WITH ANY CONFIDENCE, IT CAN'T HAPPEN TO US. IT CAN. THIS SHOULDN'T DAMPEN OUR ENTHUSIASM TO WELCOME A NEW YEAR. BUT LIKE THE ECONOMY, ONE MUST WELCOME CHANGE AND AT THE SAME TIME, FRANKLY ADMIT "STATUS QUO" IS JUST A NEAT THING TO SAY……BUT IT IS A SAIL WITH HOLES. ALWAYS HAS BEEN.

THERE ARE SNOW SQUALLS POTENTIAL FOR THIS AFTERNOON. TOMORROW MORNING, THE STOCK EXCHANGES AROUND THE WORLD…..WILL LET US KNOW WHAT THE WORLD ECONOMY'S POTENTIAL IS…..FOR THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS. WILL THERE BE ANOTHER RECESSION? COULD THERE BE A REAL ESTATE SLIDE? WILL WE BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR JOBS, FIND JOBS, AND RECORD GOOD BUSINESS NUMBERS AT OUR RESPECTIVE BUSINESSES?

THIS SHOULDN'T BE DEPRESSING. IT WAS THE SAME LAST YEAR. AND EVERY YEAR BEFORE THAT. SOMETIMES WE JUST CHOOSE TO IGNORE REALITY, BECAUSE IT CONFLICTS WITH NIRVANA…..DISTURBS CONVENIENT IGNORANCE. SOME OF THE BIGGEST JAM-UPS WITH REALITY, HOWEVER, ARE ON THOSE OCCASIONS WHEN WE, AS A POPULATION, A CULTURE, DECIDE THAT AVOIDANCE AND STATUS QUO ARE INFINITELY MORE COMFORTABLE THAN DEALING WITH THE RIGORS OF CURRENT EVENTS……AND THE LANDSLIDE IT CAN GENERATE.

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL WINTER DAY HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. IT IS WARMER THAN IT HAS BEEN, THERE IS A SERIOUS MELT GOING ON, AND I'M AFRAID THERE WON'T BE MUCH ICE MADE ON THE LAKES IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. I EXPECT THAT BY LATER TODAY, THERE WILL BE A DRASTIC CHANGE OF WEATHER, AND BY THAT TIME, WE WILL HAVE OUR NEW YEAR'S DINNER ON THE TABLE, AND BE SETTLED NICELY BY THE HEARTH, TO LET A WINTER STORM GET ON WITH ITS BUSINESS. THE SQUALL WARNING WILL KEEP US FROM DOING SOMETHING STUPID, LIKE TAKING A LONG MOTOR-TRIP ON A HIGHWAY THROUGH THE SNOW-BELT. POSSIBLY, ONE DAY SOON, THERE WILL BE ENOUGH SNOW TO MAKE GOOD CROSS COUNTRY TRAILS FOR THE ANXIOUS SNOWMOBILE CROWD. BUT THEN, NATURE DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY. IT'LL COME WHEN THE CONDITIONS PREVAIL AND NOT A MOMENT SOONER.

WE WISH YOU ALL A GOOD START TO THE NEW YEAR, AND THAT YOU HAVE THE DETERMINATION TO MAKE A WONDERFUL YEAR, DESPITE ADVERSITY AND CHALLENGE. BRING IT ON.