AULD LANG SYNE-OF-THE-TIMES

It's hard to believe, but 2006 has come to an end and 2007 is in the on-deck circle. Out here on the West Coast (and as parents of young children), we turn on the TV at 9 PM to watch the ball drop in Times Square, so we can be done with all the celebrating and in bed before midnight. We're way past that amateur stuff where you party hard and sleep it off the next day. New Year's Day is business as usual around here, and if the kids don't get their Eggos, someone's going to pay.

Having been in Times Square on New Year's Eve many lifetimes ago as a single guy, I'm now thankful to be home in my warm, cozy living room surrounded by loved ones rather than hundreds of thousands of wasted New Yorkers. I can remember standing there freezing my butt off (and in those days, Times Square wasn't exactly the upscale tourist mecca it is today, but a place you more or less avoided, especially after dark). As the ball dropped at midnight, I turned to exchange a romantic smooch with my girlfriend, but at that exact moment some drunk-beyond-belief Vinny from Brooklyn type blew his air horn in my ear and screamed, "Happy Friggin' New Year!" Ah, those were the days.

Yesterday, I wrote about our family donating money online to The Heifer Project, an organization dedictated to ending world hunger by sending animals such as cows, sheep and pigs to people in underdeveloped countries to help obtain a sustainable source of food and income. We did this together and it was wonderful to watch the kids get involved, because they really got it that it feels good to give, and they loved the idea of it being something as tangible as ducks, chickens or goats. By the way, in a last-minute change of heart, my wife and I opted for the llama over the water buffalo. Chalk it up to the cuteness factor.

But last night, my wife and I went out to a very nice restaurant and I had a strange epiphany. As we sat in the elegant dining room, tastefully decorated with wreaths and holiday lights, I looked over to the party seated at the table next to ours, who had already been served their meals. One man was gnawing on a giant sparerib, the woman next to him digging into a huge mound of mashed potatoes and the man next to her sawing away at a thick steak. Without making any personal judgements on some total strangers, I was struck at that moment by how incredibly spoiled we are in this country and that we take up an disgustingly unequal share of the world's wealth and resources.

Now, I'm not trying to sound high and mighty. After all, my wife and I were eating in this same restaurant. But I think the experience we'd had just a few hours earlier, choosing a small number of farm animals to donate to impoverished families, had made a much deeper impression than I'd thought. Here I was perusing this delicious menu and yet, the only thing that came to mind was that the amount of food being consumed in that dining room could feed an entire village somewhere for weeks. And if you added the money being spent on wine, make that months.

For some reason, my dinner didn't taste all that great and we've been to this restaurant many times and it's always been very good. I think my conscience got crossed with my palate, leaving a slightly odd taste.

Tomorrow, we're going to do another exercise with our children. In addition to the online donations we made to Heifer, we are going to have our children actually fill out the checks we write to the other charities we support each year. We want them to know who these organizations are and what they do. We're not rich (at least not the kind based on your bank account) and these aren't going to be large checks, but we want them to see that everyone needs to do his or her part to make a difference in this world and to find some cause(s) that speaks to them. And most of all, for them to learn that MONEY + INTENTION = ENERGY.

As 2006 winds down to its final hour, I'm sitting here at my desk writing (hey, I saw the ball drop in Times Square and the rest of the family is asleep). All I need to do now is watch SportsCenter to see what the happened in the final weekend of the NFL season and my year is officially complete.

Finally, I'd like to share a brief Buddhist meditation for all of us to carry into 2007 (intoxication to gluttony to spirituality, we've covered a lot of territory here).

May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be safe and well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be happy and free.

Here's to a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Generous New Year! And while we're at it, how about a lot more Peace on Earth, too.