2005 was the year to make a connection between happiness and decreased stress. 2006 is the year to link faith to that happiness. Having more faith — in ourselves, in our work, in our families and friends, and in the lives we're already living — can lead to increased peace of mind, a happier outlook, and consistent health and wellness.

If forced to choose an expert on faith Sharon Salzberg would be the one. Co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, global meditation instructor, and author of the aptly titled Faith, Salzberg is the leading lady of what she calls “the courage to step forward into the unknown.”

On the last day of this momentous year, Salzberg's words provide an inspiring springboard from which to jump into the next.

Excerpt from Faith:

We discover that we all have faith in something. For some of us loving our neighbor or making a better world for our children is what gives us a sense of meaning and seems the way to attain happiness . . . Often the objects of our faith are unconscious, or have been handed to us through our family patterns or an unexamined tradition. When we make them conscious, we can explore whether or not they do in fact bring us happiness. Then we can choose to place our faith in those things that sustain us through the ups and downs of life, those qualities of the heart that are enduring, and we can let go of the things that don't actually fulfill us.

[via Insight Meditation Society]

(Image: Insight Meditation Society)