Waking up to the many well wishes and pictures of the celebration of the Chinese New Year on Facebook and rejoicing in starting the Year of the Snake, I have been thinking about some important notions that surround us today.

1 – We live in a globalized world. We have to think beyond our own boxes and our own surroundings, we learn through others and share what we have with them.

2 – Humanity will embrace every thing positive and will take every chance to be a part of new beginnings, where the Old is left behind and New makes the path ahead.

3 – United States is a true example of how we live in a Melting Pot where we are PEOPLE before being Europeans, Chinese, Indians, Catholics, Christians, Hindus or Jews. We celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Diwali, Chinese New Year and remember great leaders that have shaped our future such as Dr. Martin Luther King and President Abraham Lincoln to name a few. Where we see people as people, despite the cultural, religious and color of our skins that make us unique and different. We importantly embrace humanity over all other denominations.

4 – How those truly leave a better world behind are truly those that have shaped Humanity for a better tomorrow. The work of Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Bill & Malenda Gates Foundation in conjunction with Rotary International and President Bill Clinton through his Clinton Foundation is shaping the world to leave a better tomorrow.

As I have been thinking about this more today, I am reminded of what our founding fathers build this great nation on.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I wish you the Very Happiness, which is truly the Highest form of Health and an important purpose of life.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Snake or as the Chinese would say “Kung hei fat Choi”

– Akshay Andy Anand