You've seen it yourself. A pebble drops into the water, and the surface erupts into miniature waves that fan out into larger and larger circles. That tiny pebble has far reaching effects.

You may be thinking about some resolutions, many do this time of year. Stop smoking. Lose weight. Get organized. Or you may be the type that hates setting yourself up for failure, so you skip the whole resolution ¡¥nonsense¡¦.

Whatever your mind set, the suggestion here is that you make this your year of healing. Connect with a counselor and actually dig into, and hash out those things that keep you from succeeding. What keeps you from being happy? What would you like to improve about yourself? What is it about you that you don't understand? What do you dislike about you? Let this be the year you find out. Allow yourself to explore the possibilities.

Pff, you say? Nothing wrong here?

What about that relationship that fell apart? What about that person you are missing? There may be misunderstandings that were never addressed. Hurts that hang in the air. People that don¡¦t accept you, don¡¦t understand you. You can¡¦t seem to get that job that you¡¦d be so good at. Forgiveness has been denied.

In the midst of current events, there is a lot of anger. Where does that come from?

It¡¦s not at all that you¡¦re fine. You may just be very, very good at ignoring the elephant in the living room. Most people are, it¡¦s human nature.

So, you work on yourself, what might happen?

You¡¦ll work hard. Maybe find some things you don¡¦t like about you. The good news is, you can change all that. Professional guidance is the objective, uninvolved third party that leads you in a healthy direction.

The result? A more stable, mature you. You¡¦ll find what you like about you, too, and build on that. When you achieve a good balance in body, mind and spirit, you have a more positive effect on others.

Then they might be inspired to get better, and they¡¦ll have a good effect on someone else.

So many pebbles. So many waves.

"Whoever saves a single life, it is as if he had saved the whole world."
ƒÞ The Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:5

You won¡¦t see the effects most of the time. But you can be confident they will happen.
Okay, let¡¦s look at the excuses you¡¦ve already come up with.
MONEY. Good one. Don¡¦t need it. There are many out there who can help, yet charge nothing. Start with a clergy person. Find a professional counselor who charges according to your ability to pay. Check out employee benefits if you¡¦re lucky enough to still have a job. Find an old person you can talk to. Find out why you hide behind this excuse so often for so many things.

INSURANCE. See above.

DEPRESSION. You don¡¦t feel sad, so you¡¦re not depressed, right? You probably don¡¦t feel anything. When¡¦s the last time you had a good laugh? A good cry? Felt joy? Broke out in song? It¡¦s not crazy. Healthy people do it all the time.

TIME. Yeah, you may have to give up an hour of TV, or a game. You might have to get a sitter. This also is an awfully convenient excuse for people too afraid to face themselves. Bury yourself in other things, and you don¡¦t think about the yucky stuff. WAKE UP. Your life is way too precious to throw away like this. Your death bed is a helluva time to realize you blew it.

I DON¡¦T WANNA. Ding ding ding! You win the prize. Lack of motivation is a sure sign you need help. You know someone you can count on to get you off your ¡V eh, couch ¡V and get you where you need to go. Contact that person NOW. You are in grave danger.

I¡¦M NOT WORTH IT. It¡¦s too late for me. Wouldn¡¦t do any good. Someone once said ¡§Whether you think you¡¦ll succeed, or think you won¡¦t, you¡¦re probably right.¡¨ See Depression, above. You are a precious, living being, worthy of love, with a lot to give. Find out why you¡¦ve been burdened by this guilt and shame all this time. Get to it. Now.

TRANSPORTATION. See I Don¡¦t Wanna, above.

You have another excuse? Bring it on. Contact the editor immediately (see below).

Amazingly, once you get yourself together, other things happen magically. You might lose weight, get organized, get healthy, without even working at it. It¡¦s a by-product of self care, self realization, self respect, self esteem.

It is Shalom.