Welcome, January, the month we ring in the new year with renewed hope and promise.

Along with counting down the seconds to the New Year, you probably sang, mumbled or listened “Auld Lang Syne”, Robert Burn’s 1788 ode to times spent together. (The title translates to “for the sake of old times”.)

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
For auld lang syne”

– Robert Burns

As we look back at the times we had in 2018, let’s raise a cup of kindness to all in hope of a peaceful, healthy and happy 2019.

Enjoy these January GEMS. These quotes have given me many moments of reflection and inspiration.

Over the years, I often reflected on what it meant to be happy and wondered if I considered myself happy at a particular moment.

As I look back, I can say with certainty that I have been happiest when I chose to live in the moment rather than allowing my busy mind to ping pong me from the nostalgia of my past to the uncertainty of the future.

If there’s anything I learned from my time on this planet it’s that clichés exist because they hold universal truths.

If I had children, I would like to think that I would take the advice that William Martin gives on sharing with them the value of treasuring the ordinary things in life. Because I don’t have children, I hope to share this wisdom by example with the children of others – regardless of their age.

Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.

– William Martin