I’m not making any resolutions for the coming year. They invariably lead to disappointment when I falter. I’m committing to “try” to live up to my “hopes” in the coming year. I can already hear my daughters saying, “What did Yoda say in The Empire Strikes Back, Dad? ‘Do or do not; there is no try.’”

Nevertheless, I’ll try. And then we’ll see how I do. In the spirit of “Thoughts Become Things” I will focus my thoughts and actions on these hopes and trust that in partnership with the Universe, all will be as it should be. And in the spirit of This is Spinal Tap (another tip of the cap to my daughters and our mutual love of movies) I’m listing not my top 10, but my top 11 hopes for the year. Because sometimes we all need that extra push over the cliff…

1) I hope to have all our grandchildren together with Lindi and me at least two times this year (maybe three, but that might be pushing things).

2) I hope to continue working toward the kind of change I believe in rather than the version of change that seems to continue to be prevalent in Washington, DC. (2009 was far too disappointing in this regard). I believe more and more that real change is up to each of us–individually and then collectively.

3) After watching Simply Raw, I hope to eat mostly organic and raw food this year. I’m becoming more and more convinced that health is in some way tied to what I eat and drink (kind of a “duh” moment there)

4) After watching Food, Inc (available for instant download on Netflix), I hope to eat no (or at least very little) food (formerly known as meat) that has a face or a family (thanks for the great imagery, Jack Bohlka)—I will likely compromise when it comes to catching and eating fresh crab with Brad and PJ. And I won’t feel guilty.

5) I hope to have a much larger and more successful garden this year than ever before (did I mention the film Food, Inc? If more people watched this movie the world would undergo radical changes…)

6) I hope to go cross-country skiing at least a dozen times this winter because it is free, it’s a great workout, and rocking out to Bruce on the trails is a real blast

7) I hope I live up to the ideals I espouse when speaking to audiences around the country

8) I hope that sometime this year our income once again matches our expenses (but this is not as important as going to Maui at least once).

9) In addition to completing my next book I hope to read more books in 2010 than I did in 2009.

10) I hope that my actual weight will at some point match the weight that is listed on my driver’s license. (I’m going to go way out on a limb here and suggest that I’m not the only one in this situation… ;o)

11) More than anything I hope that by the end of 2010, in comparison to 2009, I will have seen more truth, justice, mercy, and peace than I will have seen fear and its side effects (for our kids and grandkids this translates to more E.T. moments and fewer Dracula moments).

Blessings to each of us, fellow travelers, today and in the coming days…