Happy holidays, everyone! Christmas in our home was a quiet but very pleasant holiday this year. I hope that everyone enjoyed this Western tradition.

The end of the year is a suitable time for reflection on what we have accomplished in the past year and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. Perhaps you have been making some New Year’s resolutions – or, at least, thinking about things that you can do to reduce the stress and confusion in our busy, busy lives. I invite you to write your resolutions as a comment at the bottom of this article. Writing them will help you clarify your thinking and strengthen your commitment to achieving them.

The end of the year is also a suitable time for travel. Accordingly, I will be taking my family to Shenzhen for a few days – where I hope to find some warm, sunny weather before coming back to Chongqing, the Foggy City.

Therefore, the blog will also be taking a short holiday. I know, I know; thanks to our modern electronic wonders, it is possible to work from anywhere. All you need is a laptop (or a smart phone) and a wifi connection. I could toss a laptop, mouse, wireless keyboard, power cables, and anything else needed to have a fully-equipped mobile office – but, if you are taking your work with you, is it really a holiday?

I decided to leave all that stuff at home. They will be waiting for me when I return. Of course, I’m taking my cell phone and my Kindle so I won’t be entirely without my digital devices.

I will return in ten days, hopefully inspired and re-energized – and certainly ready for the arrival of springtime as well as Spring Festival.