The year that was

Another year has flown past.  Too quickly.  This is the year I’ve come to realise, this is my life.

It has been a year of triumphs and a year of disappointments.  I’ve enjoyed the intensity and challenges inherent in frequent travel.  The excitement of visiting new places, working with new teams and the comfort of the familiar, the teams and colleagues I’ve worked with over the years.  On the home front, the house is taking shape and is slowly becoming a reflection of how I want to live.  It is becoming a sanctuary.  My business has expanded and I move to a new office soon to accommodate the expansion.  From next year I’ll be working in the south west of the State more frequently.  Renowned for the lifestyle of quality produce, fine wines, cheeses, flora, fauna, coast and surf, I’m thrilled at the prospect of more photography opportunities.

I’ve been able to hang on to hope that my contracts would be renewed.  After nearly 11 months of almost unbearable patience, not only have they been renewed, but then some!  If at all possible, it promises to be a busier year.  I’ve had the courage to accept work in a new area, one that requires more learning and upskilling.  I’ve accepted it because it was an offer that found its way to me in the most circuitous manner.  It has presented itself for a reason.

As I mentioned previously, it has also been a year of disappointments.  It is my steadfast Faith that underpins what I am most grateful for.  It is the courage to take risks, make mistakes, learn from the experiences, and allow myself to sit with the discomfort that comes from poor decision making and judgement, instead of deflecting it.  I’ve found this kind of living has a sequence.  Embracing it I’ve found, if you listen closely enough, there is music in the momentum of change.  A rhythm.

It’s called life.

Here’s to yours. May you find courage to take risks. May you find mistakes are opportunities to learn, to heal, to grow.  It is in the chaos of discomfort we find the best teachers, and if are open to the experience, we find it is the best learning environment. When we emerge from this, not only do we discover the best that is within us, we are able to share it with others.

May your heart seek and find what it’s looking for in the coming year.

As always

a dawn bird