Dear friend,

New Year greeting itself will not make the new year happy and beautiful. That is why I will not wish you a happy new year, but that you make the new year a happy one yourself.

If you do not want to be disappointed by anything in life, do not ask life to give you what only you are called to give to it.

If the life is dark and the world full of evil, you are called upon to be the light of life and to make it better.

But you say: "How am I to be the light, when I am not the sun myself?"

Do not even try to be the sun, but be the moon shining by the sun's light.

Do not even try to be God, but by looking at His face you will bless this world with the shine of his Goodness.

Perhaps you are not in positions of great power, wealth and influence, but you do have your place under the sun, which can be made by your noble life a paradise for those living in your zone of influence. By a right word and a good deed you have the power to be a blessing to the others and a light to the world.

But, you may say, "I know to look at the common sun, but I see nowhere a sun of goodness and justice that I could shine by its light!"

You may really want to be moved by what is good, but don't know where to look to find a force of sublime goodness.

Various ideologies try to move your selfish interest appealing to your consciousness by claiming that it is useful to be good. Various religions provoke your conscience and guilt, arouse your sentimental feelings and flatter your pride and self-righteousness, in order that you find in them a strength for your good deeds.

But, you probably realize that they just replace one burden of the life with another. You understand that it is not enough to have an awareness of good, but also a force of good in your heart. Looking at yourself you may become discouraged, looking at the others you see nothing more than your own experience.

Perhaps you think that the question of good and evil is a relative one, but regardless of whether you consider yourself a believer or non- believer you must respond to the daily life temptations by some strength, some motives: courage or cowardice, meekness or hatred, trust or care, gratitude or selfishness.

It depends on the motives by which you react to the stress of life whether the life will build you up, or degrade you, whether you will be a winner or a victim of life.

You are invited to be a winner over the misconception, evil and injustice of this world, and so to become a creator, not mere audience of life. Instead of reading fiction novels or watch exciting movies, you are called to make out of your life a beautiful story, more beautiful than a most beautiful fairy tale.

Instead of looking within these few days of holiday for a joy in forgetting the unfulfilled responsibilities of your life, in order to live the rest of days of the new year again like a victim of favorable and unfavorable circumstances, you are called to think about your life, to recognize its sense and fulfill its possibilities.

The possibilities that life offers you are unique and too valuable to be wasted through your superficiality and rashness. The freedom of your action is conditioned by the freedom of your mind. You can do great things if you acquire wisdom of how to act in life.

Therefore look at where you saw the light of goodness last time and recognize the real strength that can move you in life and be a victory of the truth, goodness and justice in your life.