For all of

you entering the new year with 50 gallons of bottled

water and a 10-pound tub of peanut butter, I told you so.

The sky

didn't fall, the computer didn't crash and you still have

time to repent.

The

pressures of starting a new year are incredible. Never

mind ushering in a new millennium. The media are

screaming at us to reinvent ourselves, organize, pare

down, shape up, save and invest. It's just too much to

compute, considering Christmas was less than two weeks

ago.

The tree is

leaning in the living room and the icicle lights are

still dangling off the roof. And then there are those

gifts to mail off to the cousins in Oregon.

Let's just

slow down for a minute, catch our breaths, blow our noses

and pour the dregs of the egg nog carton down the drain.

We have 360

more days of the year 2000, and I plan to savor each and

every one of them. I have set no attainable goals, no

resolutions to forget, and no exercise plans to scrap

after a week. I have deemed this as the year to just

"be."

Faith

Popcorn, who is a noted trend spotter and life-style

predictor, has christened the next decade the age of

spirituality. Let's just hope this journey of self

discovery and soul searching doesn't include sandalwood

incense and sitar music.

I prefer to

take the eastern route and the course of least resistance

- yoga versus spinning, feng shui as opposed to

professional decor, and meditation over motivation.

I want to

offer grace over the fondue pot and give thanks for

weekends.

Despite

years of success with its recruiting slogan, "Be,

all that you can be, in the Army," the brass are

also considering a change. If they are in tune with the

times, perhaps it will be "Be - with the

Army."

So go and

be - it's the beginning of a new tomorrow. "

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