By Evelyn von AlmassyHappy 2009 to you all! This is a reflective time of year for many people. As I listened to the ongoing story about the two horses that were found abandoned and starving near Mc Bride, I reflected on the sadness of their situation. I think about the person who might have left them there, and what their life is like. What desperate situation causes one species to treat another in that way? The weather was below 30 degrees and the horses were finally being fed - (3/4 of a bale of hay per day as recommended by a vet), watered and kept warm by volunteers who brought them blankets. I think some more. I think about the people who spent a week digging a trench in the deep snow, so that the horses could walk out without breaking a leg. The latest report said the horses began to walk off the mountains, down to a town to shelter on December 24. Fitting, I thought, that people had led horses to a stable that night. Then I think about the goodness of the people who got them out of a certain deadly situation. There are many stories with happy endings on our little planet. The bear cub we worried about last week was sent to Smithers, to the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter for a chance to survive the winter. I think about the 36 hampers to which many people donated. I think about the volunteers that put together the hampers for the people in Charlotte and Skidegate that needed them. The back story to this is that this group of volunteers has been doing this for 18 years. Eighteen years. Reflect on that.I think about the gift that was hung on my neighbour's house by an anonymous kind person. (She loves the toque, but it's a little small.) I think about Kevin who goes around town picking up other people's litter all year round. And I reflect, how is my life making a difference to the world around me?The only thing I could think of lately was honking at a couple of people who were walking with a toddler in a stroller. The little one had dropped a glove behind them. As I drove off, after they had picked up the glove and continued to walk, I saw yet another glove the toddler had dropped. So I honked again; by this time I think that the couple probably thought I had lost it. But they found the second glove and laughed at the crazy driver who was honking down the road.It's the little things that make us laugh, cry or reflect. And, as people wiser than I have said, it's the small moments in life that we think of the most, not the huge big events. Perhaps it's because a little bird survived due to the resolve of a woman, that we can look differently at the flocks of wrens flying south. They are no longer an anonymous bunch of birds, but rather a group of little wrens, who have adventures on their migratory paths.I think of Dorothy and Mike Garrett who have taken in cats for twenty years and Shane Windatt who has taken in dogs for the past four years (all for the SPCA). These people have literally nursed back to life animals that have been left for death. And I reflect on the spark of love that I see in the eyes of these animals, despite everything that they have endured at the hands of people, and I am humbled. May 2009 be a year of abundance for you, and for all that you do for others. Make it a year you share your love by helping others. I bet you'll find it helps you even more. Peace out!Send me news at almassy@qcislands.net.