2012 Endings and 2013 Beginnings -

We've looked back at the year's departures to remind us about our own mortality and consider how notable personalities have shaped our lives and the wider culture.

From Neil Armstrong to Whitney Houston, spend some time with old friends, while you also consider the complex and unsettling legacy of Joe Paterno, who we thought we knew, but didn't really. It's our first People to Remember special on the web.

What will you remember of your life from the past year? There's a theory that life speeds up as we get older. Is it because we are slowing down, or could it be that anything connected with our daily routines slips by in time not fully lived?

If you make one resolution this year, let it be to inhabit each moment and day fully. Perhaps we do have the power to slow time down.

Noting the passing of memorable people is a great tradition and, if you have a macabre sense of humor, there's a smile to be had from it as well. We were "finished," after all, with our work, when we heard of the passings of the fine actors Charles Durning and Jack Klugman. We thought we were done with astronauts and politicians and other newsmakers when the grim reaper decided to take Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. And an aide to ailing former president George H.W Bush noted all the good wishes coming his way, but cautioned friends and obituary writers alike to "put the harps back in the closet."

So, as we put those harps away, perhaps we can help you begin your year by connecting with our Life Reimagined project. It's never too late for a new start.

Photo courtesy NASA