My New Year's Resolutions

Normally, I would list here the typical--get in better shape, improve my financial situation, etc. This year, I just can't do that. While I do plan to do both of those (and am actually already taking steps in those directions), I just feel like this year I need to have more meaningful resolutions.
There has been so much about the past year that has deeply affected me that I'm not even sure where to start. So much has both shaken and reaffirmed my faith in the humanity of Americans, of the global community. The suffering the world witnessed as a result of Hurricane Katrina brought to the surface many disturbing questions. How is it that our nation's most vulnerable citizens have become, as CNN's Anderson Cooper so hauntingly put it, "a population of invisible people"? When did it become so easy not to see those that need our help?
At the same time as I decried the blinders that let this tragedy happen, the outpouring of help that came from private groups and individuals helped restore some of my faith in mankind. For a week straight a local radio talk show had me in tears every time I listened to them, as they led a collections effort that resulted in about a dozen tractor trailers full of food and supplies being delivered to the Gulf, along with almost half a million dollars in cash donations.
While we tried to recover from tragedy at home, Americans continue to grapple with increasingly complex global issues--namely, how do we protect ourselves from terrorism without ourselves becoming the terrorists? It is my personal opinion that we have not done that well, and that our nation is in serious need of strong leadership to take us back in a more moral direction that truly values human life. It's really not my intent here to wax political (at least not in this post), but to provide a backdrop for my resolutions for the coming year. So before I go off on a tangent, here they are:

• To be more grateful. Sometimes it's tough to balance my checkbook right before payday, but I have never once gone hungry, slept on the streets, buried someone taken away from me by tragedy or violence, never once been abused or neglected. I am beyond blessed.
• To do more good. I can criticize my government, I can criticize our lack of action and policies I don't agree with it. But when it comes down to it, most of what I do is lip service. What action have I personally taken to help the poor, to educate the illiterate, to right the wrong? In the past year, very little. I graduated college with plans for a career in journalism because I thought I could make a difference--give voice to the voiceless. After three years, I left the field because I felt I wasn't able to do that in the way that I wanted to, at least not in the current media environment. But in the year and a half since I made that decision, I haven't found another way to "change the world." So my resolution this year is to start finding my own way to make a difference, so that in my soul I know I've done my part.

That's it folks. Two resolutions. Seems like it should be easy--but I have no doubt these will be the most difficult resolutions I've ever made.