If you have never read anything by Alan Cohen, I would recommend you check him out.

In a previous column, I referred to his inspirational book, “The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

Another of his books I have enjoyed all year long is “A Daily Dose of Sanity: A Five-Minute Soul Recharge for Every Day of the Year.”

I especially liked his narrative for Dec. 24 — so much so, I dog-eared the page.

While the story was selected for Christmas Eve, I thought it was also apropos for the beginning of a new year.

Therefore, I decided I would share it with readers in my New Year’s Eve column.

Stories Worth Telling

“The birds are molting. If man could only molt also — his mind once a year its errors, his heat once a year its useless passions!” -James Lane Allen

“At the apex of the holiday season, Dee and I went to a liquor store to purchase a gift of wine for a friend. There we asked the store owner, a congenial fellow named Ali, for some recommendations. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Ali was a world-class wine expert. He went into fascinating poetic details about each wine, describing its subtlest nuances and mesmerizing us with stories about the history of each winery, some of which went back over a thousand years. I was rapt. Finally, I commented, ‘I guess all wines have a story.’

“Ali smiled and shook his head. ‘Not exactly,’ he replied. ‘All good wines have a story.’

“There are some stories worth telling and some stories not worth telling. We have all told lots of stories, some of which empower us and others that disempower us. Many people have been stuck on a self-defeating story for so long that their lives stay in a rut, and they wonder why. Others have latched onto life-giving stories that keep making their world better.

“The end of this year might be a good time to assess which stories you wish to quit telling and which ones you would like to continue, amplify or replace the old stories with. Any story that portrays you as a creative, whole and blessed being living in an abundant universe with infinite potential is a worthwhile one to tell. Any story that portrays you as a limited, unloved or victimized person living in a world that does not honor or support you will undermine you. The choice is yours.

“Think of your story as a train you have been riding on. If it has been taking you to places you want to go, it is worth continuing the ride. If it is delivering you to undesirable places, it may be time to get off and board a vessel that takes you to where you’d rather be.”

Cohen then asks the reader, “Which story would you like to let go of? Which story would you like to replace it with?”

Happy New Year.