End-of-year reflection

I won’t let the cat out of the bag when remarking that the end of this year is on its way to arrive pretty soon. I’m sure many of us have been pondering over this ending year, how unusual and challenging it has been, and wondering what the next year will be like. Who knows… But I’m sure, even if some days are messy, there are also opportunities to smile, notwithstanding occasional bleak outlooks. I believe in hope…

I’ve already discarded this year’s diary of mine and while doing that, I noticed the remarks I started that diary with. I reminded myself that I needed * to use our treadmill regularly to be fit, * to learn German to be able to communicate better at work, * to write more posts for this blog to keep it interesting and alive, * to take more photos and learn more about my camera, * to be more creative, and * above all not to be lazy. Oh my, if you could see all those exclamation marks added!

I’m sorry to say that in many regards I failed to fulfil the challenges and I’m standing at the starting line once again with similar resolutions in mind. But you know, I don’t actually like to call them “resolutions”, I rather see them as reminders to keep striving, they help me to get back on track. Moreover, they represent just one side of the coin, there were also other challenges I succeeded in such as having worked diligently in our garden, having saved enough money for a new lens, having coped with the demands of my job and our family life. Thanks to my husband’s effort we managed to have our old dilapidated barn plus adjacent utility houses demolished and the rubble taken away, that was a great achievement.

When thinking about all of that, I was also remined of the word I had found for the year 2020, it’s been the word “courage”. I wasn’t particularly reflecting on the word throughout the year, but when I look back, it is there. So as you can imagine, I started to be rather curious about what the next word for 2021 would be… I’ve been following the tradition of choosing a word for the new year since 2014 and it always somehow wasn’t I who was choosing the word, it was the word that was choosing me through the dots that connected in my subconscious.

This time there is no difference. I was making some improvements on this blog during the last several days and when rewriting the “About this blog” page, the new word patted my shoulder and I knew right away what it was. Let me introduce EXPLORE.

Perhaps the reason why this particular word entered the limelight is that I sort of feel like caught in a vicious circle of the same thoughts and relating unfulfilled expectations and the way out could definitely be to explore new ideas, places, possibilities, skills, ways to create. To find new dots and let them all – the old and the new – be connected.

I’d like to highlight the practical site of the exploring, I find it to be the vital part of the process. You can mull over ideas as much as you want but without bringing them into life and gaining hands-on experience you’ll never really move forward. Doing something rather than just talking about it shows the way.

So one more word to accompany me together with those that preceded it in the last years, which are HUMOUR – PERSISTENCE – GRATITUDE – EMBRACE – JOY and COURAGE. They are all great – both supportive and demanding – companions complementing one another and bringing positive attitude to my life. When I heard about this tradition of choosing the word for each year for the first time I thought it was nonsense, but the longer I follow it, the more it grows on me. You just must not impose the words on you, you have to let them reveal themselves to you, then it works perfectly.

That’s it, my last post of this year is ready to be published. But before I hit the button, let me wish you HEALTHY, HAPPY and PROSPEROUS YEAR 2021, in which you’ll broaden your horizons and grow personally!

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