What does 2009 hold for us?

We are now four days into the new year. Do I feel any different about being in the new year? Other than having to remember dating documents '2009', everything seems to be the same. Is this good or bad? I want to think it's good. I am not going to rock the boat, any boat.

Do people still make resolutions for the new year? If you do and did last year, did you accomplish them, at least some of them? Having resolutions and reviewing them is a good way of quantifying progress and improvements. However, I do not have a list written down but rather I make mental notes of them and check progress periodically. Not the best method, I know.

This year, I am going to work on reading more books and doing some travelling. I never told you, did I? I went to East Malaysia last month. Went to Sibu and Kuching. Got some pictures. Just need to download them.

What to look forward to in 2009? I read that yellow is the new black. The shade in particular is called 'pantone'. People are hopeful of the Ox year being bullish where the share market is concerned. And an astrologer predicts positive entry into 2009 may end in turmoil. So tread with caution. Perhaps, a safer bet to life would be to practise the Law of Attraction and Harness the energy of the universe.

In the area of Feng Shui, Lilian Too says: The coming year is filled with good fortune. To enhance, display a Jade Ox in the Northeast of your house in the living room. Besides that, you need to enhance the good areas and suppress the bad areas to ensure a good year comes to you and all the bad or misfortune luck is under control.

For a layman like you and I, it's not easy to understand the technicalities of what Lilian Too said. Joey Yap, another Feng Shui master, offers something easier to understand and more practical, if you will. Both views have their own merits, of course.

Joey Yap:
I know we’ve all been bombarded with bad news about how much harder things are going to be in the coming year. I want to remind you that no matter how bad it sounds, nothing is completely bad all the time. There is always plenty we can DO to make things different. The cards that we’re dealt are just that – cards. It’s up to us, as individuals, to play it right and make the game of life a game worth winning.

John F. Kennedy once said, “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” I particularly like this quote, because it highlights an essential fact of life: nothing is ever wholly good, or wholly bad. Even in times of crisis and danger, there is opportunity. So yes, there’s a lot of pessimism surrounding the forecast for 2009, but what can you do about it? You can actually use your Feng Shui and BaZi knowledge to stay ahead of the game. (Again, the last bit is not for the layman.)

Whatever the year holds for each one of us, being sensible might save the day or rather the year. Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year, my friends.