As the season of believing seems to wind down let me gently remind you that many dreams still wait in the wings. Many authentic sparks must be fanned before passion performs her perfect work in you. Throw another log on the fire.

A nap is not to be confused with sleeping. We sleep to recharge our bodies. We nap to care for our souls. When we nap, we are resting our eyes while our imaginations soar. Getting ready for the next round. Sorting, sifting, separating the profound from the profane, the possible from the improbable. Rehearsing our acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, our surprise on receiving the MacArthur genius award. This requires a prone position. If we're lucky, we might drift off, but we won't drift far. Just far enough to ransom our creativity from chaos.

Don't wish today away. Don't waste it. Redeem one hour to be grateful. Let your thanksgiving rise above the din of disappointment - opportunities lost, mistakes made, the clamor of all that has not yet come.

Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.

Observe how gently but surely the natural world renews itself daily.

Many of us squander precious natural resources -time, creative energy, emotion- comparing our talents to those of others. Today ask Spirit to call forth your authentic gifts, so that you might know them, acknowledge them, and own them.

Because the truth is - and we know it - we were born to die without regrets. Regret is the only wound from which the soul never recovers.