New Year’s Eve Doesn’t Have to Be the Loneliest Night of the Year

This entails going somewhere special, i.e. a place you relish and adore but haven’t had the opportunity, funds, or chutzpah to entertain in the past. Examples might range from visiting a spa, resort, or hot springs to attending a desired cinema, theatre, music venue, dining establishment, bookstore, or museum. 

Contemplate bequeathing yourself a bouquet of flowers, pedicure/manicure, that piece of jewelry you’ve been eyeing but waiting for him/her to buy for you, that sexy underwear that’s been calling you, that alluring attractive dress/suit that’s tickled your fancy for eons. Get a makeover at your favorite hair salon/barbershop.

Perhaps you’d enjoy a hike, bicycle ride, or jog through the local mountain areas.  Maybe you’d prefer to meditate at your neighborhood church, temple, or other sanctuary.  Many religious facilities plan auspicious celebrations, e.g. walking a labyrinth, praying in a group setting, holding a holiday potluck.

Remember to honor the miracles in your life. Whether spending the final hours of 2013 with a single crony or at a soiree with hundreds of strangers, take a moment upon return (or beforehand, if you propose to be inebriated) and make a keepsake book using the following template:

Start with a gratitude list of every person who touched your heart in 2013. Record individual names of those you are fond of and those who are fond of you. Then compose a commitment to personally acknowledge their value, face to face, through supportive, affirming words; warm cozy, hugs; or the greatest gift of all…your undivided attention.

Offer these precious cohorts a home cooked meal, neck or foot massage, movie or game night, ride to the market, walking and talking excursion, invitation out on the town to Monty’s or Joe’s (see below), or the yearned for…active, compassionate listening.

Write down three of your happiest, funniest, proudest, silliest, saddest, and scariest experiences.  What situation surprised you the most? What was your biggest faux pas, revelation, lesson learned? Record each using an ideal form, e.g. prose, poetry, drawings, collage, lyrics.

What was your favorite film, TV show, book, song, concert, play, trip, sports activity? Gather photos, other collectibles, and attach them.

Incorporate a page indicating what you’d like to achieve in the 2014, vis a vis your career, friendships, family, personal growth, health, hygiene, hobbies? Keep it simple and small, doable and feasible.

This creative effort can be used in the coming months as a reminder to what’s important, acting as a focusing point when you’re scattered, overwhelmed, and frustrated or an uplifting medium should you feel hopeless, lonely, and despondent.

Finally, pledge to attend one or more of these three delightful dancing happenings, bringing in the first week of 2014 with a vivacious spirit and cheerful disposition, in a dynamic environment.

With a fresh, invigorating, positive perspective that’s highly contagious, you’ll easily magnetize a compatible member of the opposite sex to share in your joie de vivre.

On Friday night, January 3rd, Monty’s Steakhouse, Woodland Hills, (southwest corner of Topanga and Ventura), provides an incredible rock n’ roll band for fantastic dancing with no cover or minimum.  Music starts at 10pm, but you can go early for a delectable dinner or delicious drinks.

On Saturday January 4th, at 7:30pm, the dating site, Plenty of Fish, is presenting a dance party with a live band at the Woodland Hills Hilton Hotel for a small cover charge. Check it out at www.plentyoffish.com.

On Tuesday January 7th at Joe’s American Bar and Grill on Magnolia Ave. in Burbank (just west of Hollywood Way), phenomenal live swing bands will knock you off your feet beginning at 9pm.  If you’re hesitant to participate, seasoned and novice dancers will wow you from the sidelines. There’s no cover charge, however, donations for the musicians are suggested. Joe’s has an array of yummy drinks and dishes for your savory indulgence.

Make this a year that counts in cultivating the courage and strength to raise your consciousness and foster that coveted romantic liaison. Enlist 2014 as an occasion to bond with the perfect partner, discarding procrastination to the wind, once and for all. Remember: Time does not wait for dawdlers.

Wishing you the many miracles, peace and blessings, love and romance, happiness and joy, wonder and awe, abundance and prosperity, passion and tenderness, creativity and productivity, contentment and confidence, loads of laughter and luck, that you so graciously deserve.