The days following Christmas Day are always the same each year; a peace surrounds us all as we sit back to rest. For some it is the end of the rush and bustle of Christmas and the end of another year; for others it is the beginning of something new and for everybody it can be breathing space. Yes, it's that time in between Christmas and New Year. I wondered up to Westfields today and browzed around. I was amazed at the few people that were there. One could have fired a canon through the place and not hit a soul lol. In fact, there were even few cars on the road as I drove there. It is as though everyone is exhausted from the build up to Christmas, too tired to leave their homes or hit the road. Perhaps everyone has left town for a holiday. It is about this time every year that we realize how caught up in the day to day activities of work and family we get that it is easy to forget what is truly important; the quality of our lives.
I always thought that I reflected a little on life each time I sat to write something, but the end of the year affords me the time to review, plan and project. When I was little ( I am guessing about 6 or 7 years old) my Grandmother told me that the period between Christmas and New Year was given to us as a time of reflection. It is amazing the things we remember from our childhood. Was I the best person I could be? the best mother? the best friend? Did I live my life based on integrity or was I just going through on auto-pilot? 2008 provided me with the opportunity to encounter so many lovely people along the way. Mr J and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary, buried yet another relative and i watched my husband in agony in a hospital emergency room. I changed work sites, made sweeping changes to our business which we should see the results of in the first quarter of 2009, made one major change to my health which has already had significant effects. I took up photography and Tai Chi and love both, had an offer to buy one of my short stories which I sold, and started A Scattering of Thoughts. My friend Vicki was so patient in teaching me to assemble and create graphics and backgrounds that I find them a wonderful source of relaxation nowadays. Later Mr J and I had the most beautiful holiday in Vanuatu and welcomed two new people into our family, whose presence, laughter and kindness has been a gift in itself. As I look back on this past year I realize now, more than I ever have, the importance of balance. There is a skill to living life meaningfully while still developing and cultivating a sense of humanity. For me balance is going to be the key to happiness and sucess in life over this next year.
Speaking of which, I guess at some stage we all wonder what the next year holds for us. Mr J and I will be job sharing between the South coast and Sydney. This will give us precious time with our children and friends as well as time fishing and relaxing at the beach together on weekends. Some years back we learned that it is not the monetary value of life that creates happiness but rather the quality of life that one experiences along the way. I am hoping that in eighty weeks when the south coast project finishes we will have had such a good time that we don't want to return lol. Well one can always dream lol.
Have a good evening everyone. It is the final week of 2009 and like every other day, week and month of the year, it will never return so make the most of it. The flowers in the photographs were all snapped at Mt Tomah National Park NSW September 2008
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