Saturday 31 December 2011

What will this year be like? I wonder...

When I look back on this past year, I see a tumultuous year of change and loss. 

Lost people. Lost jobs. And lost dreams.

For many, 2011 was a year that fundamentally changed their lives. Even those with the strongest foundations quaked.

From the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, the old ways of life were challenged on a collective level.

From the loss of those people, values and material assets that we held dear, the old ways of life were challenged on an individual level.

Some, shaken and stirred, remained standing. Others, like my fabulous father-in-law, were swept away as the solid mountain is inexorably washed away by the river of time. A few, like my Dad with his gritty determination, still cling precariously to the last few moments of the old year.

What will this new year be like? I wonder…

A friend said to me that 2011 was a year in which God held a clearance sale. All those things that no longer served their purpose in our lives were cleared out. 

And that, of course, makes space for all that is new to come into our lives because change is not loss…it’s only different.

Throughout 2012 there will be loose ends from the previous cycles in our lives to tie up and pack neatly away. While I quake at the thought of what those final losses may mean, mostly I look forward to 2012 with a flicker of hope that can, with very little effort, burst into a flame of excitement at the new adventures that await.

A new year with twelve months...what’s so fearsome about that?



HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May 2012 be a year of clean endings, peaceful transformations
and of seeking dreams, both old & new.

17 comments:

Lisa said...

I love your happy new year wish.

Happy New Year Judy from me to you :)

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

OCEANGIRL: I return those wishes x 100 x 10! xx

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Oh my. Sorry to delete that comment but I wished you a happy 2011 instead of 2012. That shows how muddled I am when I first wake up and how distracted this year has left me! Anyway, I've had a lot of thoughts like yours about this past year. May the next one be peaceful, productive and prosperous.

Jenny Woolf said...

I am sorry that life has been so sad and difficult in many ways recently, and I hope 2012 is better for you, Judy, with many good things coming into your life.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Judy .. life catches up with us all at times .. some early some late - and we count our blessings for the late ones.

I think 2012 will be worse - but those that have courage and can see the road ahead, and the opportunities that will open up - will be luckier than many.

I just hope humanity can come to its senses and realise life really does mean life - and those dictators rot in hell fairly soon.

I'm just horrified at how man can be so cruel .. Peace to the world ..

A very happy 2012 .. there will be twinges of sadness, but we have much to be thankful for.

Happy New Year .. cheers Hilary

Frances Garrood said...

A very happy and peaceful new year, Judy. It seems that every year brings its sadnesses - global and personal - but I hope that you have the happier year that you deserve.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Cheers to you, Judy, and happy new year!

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

Tricia – I know your 2011 was rough too, so it’s forward and onward into a sparkling new year that (let’s hope!) is a good one for all!

Jenny: Thanks for your words of comfort. But, somewhere inside, I know that – although the kind of year 2011 was, was tough ¬– it’s also these years that are the times when we grow wiser (well, hopefully!) May 2012 bring you many good things too!

Hilary: Yes, definitely counting my blessings! And there have been many of them in 2011, mainly the opportunity to spend quality time with my Dad and say all that needs to be said. And so we do have much to be thankful for

Frances: And to you and your family (not forgetting Titch the horse!) a very happy and peaceful 2012 as well.

Yvonne: Cheers to you and yours, too, for a happy and abundant 2012!

Linda Cassidy Lewis said...

I wish you a new year abundant with wonders.

Patricia said...

Best wishes for a wonder full new year to you and yours...
yes 2011 was a tough year for many..on top of 4 years of tough for some...but it is also open for hope for the new year to come - opportunity and possibility - I do understand why some get tired...
Oh how to shake it up and change with grace and joy? always a question

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

Linda, that's a lovely wish, which I hope is returned to you tenfold! :)

Patricia, wise words indeed...to be able to accept change with grace and joy is a great gift. Change so often works in our favour, doesn't it? And yet we're often so resistant to it (at least, I know I am!)

CA Heaven said...

Still 365 days to go. I think 2012 will be an interesting year, in many ways, and I'm looking forward to it. Happy new year >:)

Cold As Heaven

Joanne said...

I like your idea of a flicker of hope igniting into a flame of excitement. That's sometimes all it takes, a little flicker of effort, of an idea, of a decision, to set it all in motion!

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

COLD: 2012 is set to be a verrry interesting year, on a personal and a collective level. A watershed year in the making, and we're living it! Happy New Year!!

JOANNE: Yes, it is amazing how quickly that flicker can burst into a conflagration! And then things move faster then we could ever have imagined. I often wonder at how little time it takes to change a life forever :)

Damaria Senne said...

A happy new year.

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

Damaria: Happy new Year to you too! Hope 2012 brings much success & happiness

Judith Mercado said...

"What will this new year be like? I wonder…"

I wonder, too. I hope there will be kindness, praise, gratitude and, yes, love; especially, love.