Although I find Samhain a more spiritually significant time of the year (and also acknowledge the Chinese calendar- for Year of the Rabbit 2 years ago, we enjoyed a big dinner!), I like to make a point of focusing on the positive energy that you get around Christmas and New Years. Of course, I acknowledge the Solstice, and although we're not Christians we celebrate Christmas (as many other non-Christians do). Christmas is a very happy time for me...I find the time between late October and early January a generally happy time for me, and enjoy using generosity and gifts as a way to show appreciation for the many wonderful people in my life.
I thought 2011 had been a crap year, but I had no idea just how much of a struggle 2012 was going to be. If I thought that 2011 had been a challenge, well, I was totally unprepared for this year. Last Christmas was fantastic. Last New Year's was the best yet...even now I still smile and feel happy recalling the wonderful time I had. But what followed would become the most stressful time of my life, even worse than my late teens when I was struggling with depression and academic difficulties.
However, despite all that sheer...crap...so much has come out of this year that has been...amazing. Fantastic. Potentially life changing even. The other day, I said to a friend "half of the year totally crashed and burned...the other half rose from the ashes". It really did.
So over the next couple of days, as we approach the apparent "apocalypse" (don't worry, the Doctor will sort that out ;) ), Yule, Christmas and New Year's celebrations, I'm going to be reflecting on the events of the passed year. My first post may seem a bit emo, as I will be quickly laying out what went wrong (and there was a LOT that went wrong!) but then I will be focusing on the achievements, positive experiences and highlights of this year. I don't intend this to be purely bragging about my success ^^;; its just that there have been some real hard times, some still continuing, but at the same time, I need to really focus on all the good, and make the most of this positive season before a new year of unknowns creeps upon us. Sure there will be a small snippet of self-publicity (hey, you gotta, right?) but more than anything, this will be something to reinforce my determination to suceed as a writer, and to carry on through hard times.
Two sayings have really been significant to me this year. The first "one door closes, another opens." It really does, although you won't know it until after you've been through the new door. The other is "Everybody's choices are half chance", taken from Baz Lurhman's speech/single "Everyone is Free to Wear Sunscreen". Its made me realise that sometimes, there are no good choices to make, and sometimes even when you try hard to battle through, things go tits up. But it doesn't mean you didn't make a good call, make a good effort, or that you should just give up.
Speak again soon, take care for now :)
x
(Image is not mine, Jack Skellington and The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs to Tim Burton)
You're so right, 2012 has been the toughest yet. It's also brought me the best thing in my life. But overall, I'm looking forward to seeing the end of it.
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