It is 2013, the beginning of a new year.  For many people, the concept of "new" is equivalent to fresh, revitalizing, a new start, and new beginnings.  New=opportunity, uncharted territory in the expansive terrain of life.  I began wondering, not what does this mean for me, this idea of "new", but for the world.  I have come to a single conclusion.  I have found one word out of millions of possibilities that, from my vantage point, sums up the global perspective, and it is HOPE.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where what receives the most press, the greatest amount of media coverage, and the freedom to enter our televisions, computers, phones and minds, is NEGATIVE.  Too often, I find myself succumbing to the darkness that one inevitably feels when confronted with an endless stream of war, rape, murder, coups, political unrest, natural disasters, child exploitation, human trafficking, and the list goes on and on and on.

I, however, want to be extremely well informed.  I want to know and understand the WORLD I live in.  The first thing I do every morning, after brewing coffee, is read the morning's news on BBC.com.  I will not stop doing this because I feel as though knowing what happened today, around the world, makes me a more conscientious, well-informed individual.  Where does the balance lie then?  This was the question I needed to answer, for myself, and I have.

The balance lies right here, in the commitment that I have made to myself and to you by creating this blog, by writing these words.  Here it is: I pledge to always look for the GOLD LINING, and when I find it, to pass it on, right here, right now.  In every story, no matter how dark, I truly believe that there exists a glimmer of hope, and that is the GOLD.  It frames the human existence, and is what allows people who have survived inconceivable loss to keep going, and not only survive but thrive.  I have seen this first hand, time and time again.  For almost ten years now, I have been involved, in one capacity or another, with various refugee population in the United States.  Never have I been so humbled, or inspired, as I was after hearing their stories and witnessing the lives they continue building for themselves here.

So, it is simple.  My plan is to find the GOLD LINING in different stories that I encounter, and to share them with you.  I encourage you to do the same.  I will not argue with the FACT that this world can be a dark and hateful place, but I will not succumb to it by ignoring the HOPE that simultaneously exists with it.  I am choosing to search for that, in everything I see.