Faith is walking to the edge of all you have and taking one more step.

With the holidays upon us, it is the time of year when many people pause to look back upon the year gone by while giving thought to their faith. Some of us may reflect upon this year and ask ourselves if this was a "good" year or a "bad" year, but such labeling is not only unhelpful, but in some ways a distortion of reality as life is really lived in the gray areas - not in the black and white of "good" or "bad."

For many, 2009 may have, indeed, been a bad year. Perhaps a job was lost, or the excitement of earning a college degree turned to apprehension when no job materialized upon earning that degree, or a beloved was lost through death or divorce, or a home was foreclosed on. Clearly, with life's many challenges it would be easy to fall into the trap of labeling an entire year as "bad." But, no matter how painful they may be, many of these life situations are external to who we are and what our purpose is. There are lessons we can learn from tough times.

Personally, I am certain that even those people with whom I didn't get along well with in 2009 have nonetheless surely touched my life in positive ways. Though I may not fully understand how the process works, I don't doubt that all my encounters - good and bad - have made me stronger and helped me to become the sensitive and caring person that I am.

Rather than label 2009 a "bad" year, one might say it's been a challenging year full of learning opportunities and growth. Perhaps you've learned how to make do with less. Perhaps you are learning new skills, or have reconnected with old friends and business associates. And, just maybe, you find yourself this holiday season taking a serious look at your life and where you are headed.

So what is calling to you for the new year?

Do you have a clear vision of who you'd like to be in 2010? This is who you are at your core. It has very little to do with what you do for a living, the income you make, the friends you have or where you live. It has everything to do with how you treat yourself and others.

How will you take care of yourself? Physically, mentally, spiritually?

Are you taking risks or do you stay safe?

Asking yourself these questions is important because, truly, having faith is Finding Answers In The Heart... it is walking to the edge of all you have and taking one more step.*

* Excerpted from Chapter One of Conversations from The Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop: 8 Keys to Rediscovering Lost Dreams and Finding Your Life's Calling.