A final thought on 2021…This is for those who came into my life during the past year. For whatever reason.
I thank you for the opportunity to learn from you.
Good, bad or indifferent, you all made a contribution and for that, I am most grateful.
There are those of you who have chosen not to be a part of my journey during 2022. You came, shared your experiences and left. And I hope that I have learned from those relationships.
There are some who had been in my life for a while and that I chose to leave behind. Thank you for being there for me and I wish you all the best in your new journey.
As we trundle into 2022…
“Merry Christmas”, “Happy Holidays”, “Happy New Year”… have all been written or spoken in the past few weeks but now reality has set in and the holidays are over.
The first Monday of 2022 has dawned and with it the realization that for some the working year starts today!
True to my own New Year Suggestion, I started walking again this morning after a break of several months. And it seems that I was not the only one out and about in our suburb this morning.
What I looked forward to all year has come…and gone leaving many of us, me included, in a state of limbo. I am not certain about you, but the week between Christmas and New Year is one of confusion for me. I tend to mix the days up and I seem somewhat adrift when it comes to working. Yes, I have historically had projects to complete during this time, but they invariably take less time than anticipated…leaving me with even more time on my hands. Netflix and Showmax are such temptations!
Much like a birthday that seems to take so long to come around, these two end-of-the-year dates have now been and gone in the blink of an eye and do we have anything to remember them by?
Not everyone celebrates Christmas but many who do, do so for purely commercial reasons. “What did you get”? is an oft exchanged expression on Boxing Day and in the following week until that question is replaced by “What are you doing for New Year”?
This year the transition from 2021 to 2022 was marked by the fact the COVID curfew had been lifted so that those who wanted to could see the New Year in without having to rush home. Personally, it was a strange feeling for me and it was almost like I had to learn how to interact with a group in a social setting once again.
But now the festivities and the frivolity are over and for many, it is a return to work either today or during this week and that is when the real tests of 2022 will start.
For those who have work, they can count themselves amongst the few who can start the year on a positive note; however, there will be those whose year will commence with the need to find gainful, paying employment that will keep food on the table and a roof over the heads of themselves and their families.
We have to be aware that the December accounts will have to be paid before the 7th and that euphoric feeling of spending recklessly on gifts etc. will be brought to an abrupt halt as THAT reality sets in. And debit orders know no holiday, they will have already started to reflect in bank accounts that have been depleted by spending or the fact that many did not get a December bonus that they were counting on.
And just like that, the rat race begins once again.
Personally, there will be no standing in a queue to return gifts as the few that I did receive were given with love and a lot of thought and do not need to be returned for a ‘store credit’ or end up being re-gifted.
I don’t make New Year resolutions, I make New Year suggestions to myself and foremost of those is to be non-judgmental, patient, to value myself and my abilities and more importantly to love without expectations.
I am making a conscious effort to divest myself of my constant need for external affirmation and although that is difficult for me, I will work at it. An affirmation can and should come from within and that should be enough. HOWEVER, should you wish to pay me a compliment, I will accept it with graciousness and gratitude.
I will no longer be accepting of those who choose to belittle or marginalize those less fortunate for whatever reason…and I will do that without fanfare or fighting. Here today gone tomorrow!
I will try to learn from those who interest, excite and motivate me.
I separated my Christmas and New Year greetings this year as not everyone celebrates both and I do hope that I did send them to all those who were meaningful in my life both in 2021 and going forward into 2022.
With the first weekend of the New Year a thing of the past, we trundle off into 2022. I hope that the year will be kind. That I will be able to take full advantage of all the opportunities that might be offered to me and that I will treat both the planet and my fellow human beings with compassion and kindness…
Word of the Day (Dutch, slang): AZIJNPISSER — someone who constantly makes negative and critical comments; the literal meaning is ‘a vinegar pisser’. I will try to accentuate the positive!
In case 2021 was a crappy year, here is some humour to cheer you up…how many apply to YOU?
1. When one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in prison.
2. To me, “drink responsibly” means don’t spill it.
3. My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.
4. It’s the start of a brand new day, and I’m off like a herd of turtles.
5. The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
6. When I say, “The other day,” I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 years ago.
7. I remember being able to get up without making sound effects.
8. I had my patience tested. I’m negative.
9. Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn’t fit any of your containers.
10. If you’re sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say, “Did you bring the money?”
11. When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say “nothing,” it does not mean I am free. It means I am doing nothing.
12. I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever.
13. I run like the winded.
14. I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don’t know whose side I’m on.
15. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, “Why, what did you hear?”
16. When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminium can stuffed with celery?
17. I don’t mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited.
18. When I ask for directions, please don’t use words like “east.”
19. Don’t bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That’ll freak you right out.
20. Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops.
To all of you, I wish YOU all the best for YOUR year.
If our paths cross again, I trust we will remember each other with kindness and respect.
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