The end of a year is almost upon us. It’s another year that seems to have flown by. I don’t know about you but the older I get the faster time seems to go by. While the New Year is a time when many make New Year’s resolutions and set often meaningless goals for the coming year, for most of us they are goals soon forgotten. I know I’ve done it myself on many occasions. The difference this year end is that it is also the end of a decade and we are soon to start another.
There is a lot to learn from looking back over the year just gone and see what you actually accomplished and what you are grateful for. Regardless of how good or bad it’s been we need to find things to be grateful for. Often it can seem that it’s been quite uneventful but even in the uneventful years there are successes even if they are small and it’s good to acknowledge them.
I look back at this year and it’s been far from the most eventful year in my life. In many ways it would be looked at as quite boring but boring is good compared to a really bad year. Other than a few days in Chicago earlier in the year I haven’t been very far from home. But I’ve been learning a totally new skill for me and I’m amazed at just how far I’ve come with it. Yes, there’s still a way to go but if someone had said to me even a year ago that I would learn this I would have said no way. We had a beautiful summer and I live in a lovely area so those are a couple of the things that I am grateful for.
We all have years that we recall with a smile and there are the years that when we think back we recall with tears. So how has your year been and more important how has your decade been? As I look back over this past decade of my life it has included some of the saddest and most difficult times of my life. During the decade I lost a grandson which was the worst of any other time of my life. So it was also the worst time for other members of my family too, especially my daughter and her husband his mom & dad also his brother. It’s something that you never get over. I also lost a very good friend of over 40 years and a few other close relatives too. I know that there will be many that have experienced their worst years.
Whenever I hear of anyone losing a child my heart goes out to them. I have always felt for those that lose someone that they love, especially a child. But since the loss of my own grandson I know from personal experience of the heartbreak that comes with it and now my empathy is so much more profound.
It doesn’t matter if you are an ordinary person or a celebrity the loss is unbearable. When John Travolta and Kelly Preston lost their son how could you not feel sadness for them, not only them but the grandparents and other family members! It also quickly takes you back to your own pain. There are accidents, illness, the missing children and those that are deliberately killed, and the domestic situations that turn into family tragedies that we seem to be hearing so much more of these days. There is constant grief and sadness going on for someone somewhere.
So whether they have been your most difficult times or your best times we know that we are going to endure both the many peaks and the valleys during our lifetime. We don’t have a crystal Ball and maybe that’s a good thing.
It’s a good practice to have a sense of where you are in your life and where you want to be. What plans do you have for the coming year and even the coming decade? Maybe it’s a bit much to have a 10 year plan but some people do. Maybe at least start with the things that are most important to you and build around that. Make a list and have as many great experiences as you are able while you are able.
Wishing you the best for your next decade.