As the curtain closes on 2012, today – December 26^th – marks the first day of Kwanzaa, a seven day celebration of family, community, and culture!

A holiday that lasts seven days, Kwanzaa stands for seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Each principle relates to the physical, emotional, environmental, and spiritual health of individuals around the world.

Let’s each take a moment to stop and reflect on the past year and how we’ve honored these principles. Looking back, I see far too many news stories reflecting pain, suffering, and hardship. For those of us in the US, the race for the American Presidency took off early in the year. Many of us have continued to fight for a level economic playing field. We have witnessed global extremes in weather. The American Cancer Society anticipated 39,510 deaths from breast cancer alone in 2012. And as difficult as it is for me to come to terms with, I will never forget the innocent children of Newtown, CT, whose lives were lost far too soon, nor the people who went to enjoy a midnight movie and were gunned down in a Colorado theater last summer. Although these examples are very specific examples of recent events, what about the numbers of people living in tents or sleeping on cardboard in the streets of Seattle! In the words of the late entertainer Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On”?!

As the silver ball makes its way to Times Square and begins its annual descent signifying the close of the 2012 and the beginning of 2013, it is my dream that we as humans become more determined to find a cure for cancer, to put more efforts into supporting the environment that surrounds us, to think creatively and cooperatively to find ways to close the economic divide, to help those who have lost loved ones to violence during their healing process, and to have faith the size of a mustard seed as we take a step toward fulfilling our individual purposes in life for the greater good of our communities and our planet!

Take a few moments to share your thoughts of 2012 with us below, and ideas on how to build a healthier society!