Thanks for following this column during 2010. I do not take your support or your letters lightly. My only regret is that I cannot respond to every letter. To do so I’d have to employ staff and, as a consequence, I think the column would lose the personal touch I like to believe it has.

Highlights for the year I think have been the “Write Something Beautiful” and the “Give Something Away Every Day” challenges. Reader response to both was nothing short of phenomenal – and in the case of the latter, men and women gave handsomely of their wealth and possessions and participated in encouraging a spirit of goodwill in contexts where it is often least expected.

I’ll close this final column of 2010 not only with wishing you a very happy New Year but also with reminding us all of what have become persistent themes: show up for yourself (it is wise, not selfish); speak up for yourself (this is helpful, not selfish); show up for the underdog; resist all controlling behaviors (manipulation, intimidation, domination); define yourself while resisting the natural urge to define others; and, finally, remember that anxiety is more contagious even than the common cold.