For some of us the year did start out this way. My daughter and I decided New Year's Eve to not only take a class each but Melissa had a world wind idea of starting her own holistic beauty line. She is allergic to so many different things that she got tired of attempting to try new products and then after reading the labels, not be able to. So for her, yes it is a Number 1 year.

I have started to branch out on my own greeting card line. I've started a series of inspirational cards in order to reach out and attempt to help heal the hearts of many. So in this sense it is a Number 1 year for me also.

There have been other areas in our lives that don't fall into this mold though. And this is what I am seeing in so many people around me. Job related or business related, people who are attempting to bring in the new are doing very well with their creations. However those creations are not the source of their true happiness. It feels like there seems to be something missing from their lives. So many people have started to 'come into their own' around me and yet they are not content.

Melissa and I are content with what we are creating because we know that it will have a positive effect on those that come in contact with it. But even with us…there is something missing. Our true happiness can not be bought or created. It has always come from inside and been shared with those closest to us. This is what's missing from our lives. The opportunity to share our accomplishments with those closest to us.

This same scenario I have seen with so many people around me. For those of you who don't know, I still manage a pet store during the day. One of my customers recently opened her own beauty salon. She was very excited about the venture and she is doing very well with it. But each time she comes in she doesn't look all that happy. I finally asked her one day why. Her answer was because she isn't able to share the success with her husband as much as she'd like to. This is due to their work schedules. On days when their paths cross she is naturally happy and it shows on her.

Another customer had started going to the gym at the beginning of the year and he was losing weight and looking very content with himself. He came in the other day and was 'out of sorts' so to speak. Of course I had to ask him what was wrong and his answer took me off guard. He said his friend had become sick with the flu and had not been to the gym with him in over a month and it just wasn't the same. He missed the support that they gave each other, the encouragement to try harder. That's why he had lost as much weight as he had.

There are many other examples that have walked through my door at the pet store. All of them have a common thread to them. The beauty salon, the gym and all the other things that they were doing they had been guided to do. Each person felt that it was something that they 'just had to do' without questioning why. The people that were closest to them in each situation were there because they were supposed to be there.

Melissa and I feel the same. Ours is on a more personal level, but the thread is the same. What is missing in our lives shouldn't be. We are hoping since this is a Number 1 year that we all are able to regain what seems to have slipped away from our lives. Even though there is something missing in our lives right now, my prayer is for our happiness to return. For this missing part to be gifted back to us. It is only through sharing our successes that they become so sweet. It is through sharing our lives that they become so fulfilling. Many of my customers are realizing what my daughter and I have known for a long time now. All the comforts in the world, all the success in the world can not make you smile inside as easily as the smile of those closest to you when you share it with them. It's the beauty of what you have created being reflected back to you that enables you to see just how much you have given to the world. We can weigh our accomplishments by how much of a positive effect they have on the world.

We strongly believe that we are Divinely Guided to create what is in the best interest of everyone that our creation touches. We feel that this Guidance will bring us to a state of balance in our lives. We will have the job that is needed to bring the most opportunities for the growth of our Higher Self. We will be surrounded by those who believe in us and support our efforts in the world. Those closest to us will reflect back to us an image of who we are and what we offer the world. They are the ones that will make the difference in our worlds. They are the ones that will enable us to smile inside at our own accomplishments and the effect that these have had on the world. They are the ones that make us feel like life matters and encourage us to do more and be more.

This shows us that each stranger that we meet is capable of becoming one of our closest blessings. They will bring those smiles to us inside. May each stranger that you meet touch your life in a way to brighten it and expand it. May your lives be filled with happiness and wonderful accomplishments this year. We're hoping that this Number 1 year brings tiny miracles for all of us.