The year 2009 has dawned upon us
with a ton of challenges that range from the fear of being laid off-or
if not, the draining task of seeking employment-how to ever make money
from selling a house, to disgust at the state of affairs in the Middle
East.

Even the most sunniest of personalities may find
themselves drawn into the heated discussions of how low the state of
this world has gone. Like any form of exercise, working those positive
thought muscles may take more work than ever. But it's doable. And for
some, part of their New Year's resolution is to staunchly stay on the
brighter side of matters.

A quick walk through the
neighborhoods of Somerville, armed with a digital camera to capture
some smiling faces, revealed that very few people were truly about
ready to give up hope, and that their resolution for 2009 is to dig
deep from within and see what comes up.

Newly-weds Glenn and
Deborah Morrow of Somerville, both have good reason to be optimistic
for 2009-they are in love. The Morrows have been doing a lot of work on
their house-general renovations and tidying-to make it more of a haven
for them. They decided to cut back on traveling and entertainment so
that they could weather any unfortunate layoff situations, but to them
that's a good thing. Returning to a calmer, domestic home life will
only make them a closer unit.

"Plus, it is an attitude," Glenn said. "I have a lot to be grateful for."

Deborah likes to read poetry when life seems unbearable, as the written word offers a Universal message about faith and love.

"I
try not to be afraid when things seem bad, since fear can really make
you crazy," Deborah said. "I also try to see who out there is in worth
shape than I am. Helping others really can take away those fears."

As
she dashed across Somerville Avenue from appointment to the other, Mimi
Graney, the executive director of Union Square Main Streets, said
keeping busy and useful keeps her feeling hopeful. Constantly thinking
of creative projects for Union Square takes a lot of positive energy.

Hope
for 2009 also comes in the form of fixing what has been broken. People
are coming to realize that the two-party system is not democracy,
explained Mary Crary, a professor of Newton, who was taking a walk
through Union Square with her friend, Amy Valens, a retired teacher,
visiting from Forest Knolls, CA.

"American citizens have to
find ways to engage more in the political process," Crary said. "I hope
that our democracy supports this process, but you can't just rely on
that."

People need to switch their way of thinking away from
Democrats v. Republications, which is dysfunctional and distracts
people from the main issues. "So I resolve to look more at how we can
work towards this shift, than how bad things are," Crary said.

She added that she has intensified her yoga practice and works hard to take deep breaths when things become overwhelming.

Valens
had to agree that she had more hope with Obama soon to be in office. "I
cross my fingers that Obama will pull more things out of his hat," she
said.

Finding hope for 2009 also boils down to faith that
things will get better. John Figueiredo, an HVAC technician from
Somerville, said that he expects the recession to turn around by this
summer and that unemployment levels will start to level off. "Typically
my resolution is to take better care of myself and eat right," he
grinned.

Over at Union Square Smoke Shop, owner Dave
Hamparian, said he has seen both good and bad times, and they all
pass-eventually. "I hope we get through the worst of it as quickly as
possible and that we can find a way to recover," he said.

Across the street at Midnite Convenience, owner Frank Golden shrugged and admitted he takes it all on the cuff.

"I
say, 'Keep on keeping on,' to quote Joe Dirt from Saturday Night Live,"
Golden quipped. "No, really. That is all you can do when you really
think about it. There isn't any other alternative.