This time of the year always reminds me of the poem below because it makes me reflect on the past year and its blessings – The good, the bad and the ugly. This short, anonymous story poem makes me think about the people I’ve met and the people whom I’ve lost contact with. It makes me look ahead to the new year and evaluate my present relationships, contemplating who is “A Reason, Season Or A Lifetime.”

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

- Author Unknown

Ellen, who couldn’t resist getting in on the fun, decided to shoot her own Phoenix commercial with Keith, hoping that having him star in the ad would give her a “leg up” in winning the big prize. Watch their hysterical ad below, featuring Keith looking sexy in an unbuttoned black shirt, and Ellen getting lots of laughs trying to be sexy in her long blond wig, white dress and hilarious attempt at seduction.

“Are you looking for a cologne that’s hotter than Tuscon but not as hot as you?” Ellen asks in a suddenly sultry voice. “Phoenix. Burning. Scorching. Sexy. Sultry. Searing. Fiery. Phoenix. It’s hot, but it’s a dry heat.”

Watch some funny outtakes from their Phoenix ad.

Using a highly accurate headband to track your progress through sleep stages from wake, to deep sleep through periods of R.E.M and light sleep, the Zeo Sleep Manager wirelessly transmits recorded data via a Bluetooth connection to a free to download iPhone application.

 “NOPE, It’s Chuck Testa.”

Don’t think we have to worry about Luke doing a feature film anytime soon though.