END OF THIS YEAR
Friday, December 30, 2022
If you self-promised to make changes this year or fulfill any resolutions, you better hurry – time is running out.
Another calendar is here, ready to hang on the wall (mine is 12 months of grandchildrenès pictures – one of my best gifts every year), another holiday season of memories put away in the history books.
Looking around, we hear and read of year-end honours bestowed, year-in-review, and predictions fill most publications and the airwaves because there is so little news …
What does your year look like in hindsight?
What’s on the road ahead beyond where the headlights shine?
If we could instantly transport ourselves back a year (or forward,) what would our answers be?
Everyone has a private list and a shorter public one. We don’t mind talking about what we’ve done but less so about what we’ve not done that we planned to do. We love the sense of accomplishment of tasks done, problems solved, or even problems identified/tackled …
Where we struggle is recognizing our failings and our non-completion of things we could have done, should have done, or promised to do.
The best way might be to set our sights low and make few promises, but that’s not our nature, is it?
If we go into the new year with dreams and lofty goals with enthusiasm and bravado – that will aid/speed our momentum. Ultimately, it won’t be our ideas or work that limit us but a lack of vision and belief. If we see it, we can get there. If we believe it, we can convince others. If we own it, we own it – good or bad, sink or swim, good times or bad.
The year ahead will not be as predicted – because it never is. While some things unfold generally along lines economists and futurists predict, those predictions and the setbacks cannot be known in advance. Heroes show up when needed. Problems cross everyone’s path; life is worth living more than ever, and the pace of change continues to accelerate.
We can be an accelerant; we can help make someone’s light burn brighter.
We can be a great society and a caring community, and we can be a force for good and a force for change at the same time – one person at a time, one day at a time. I’ll be writing about my journey here and telling my story. I encourage you, reader, to be a force for good in your work, in your place in the world, and to encourage others. Lead, follow, or pave the way for others …
In 2022, many thanks to Carla for her research and for pointing me toward an investigation of ADHD that led to my diagnosis and starting treatment on July 8th, this year has produced considerable shifting of my landscape in terms of understanding myself and better appreciating how I interact with those around me – for the better, I believe. But it hasn’t been simple, and I doubt 2023 will be an entirely smooth road. Like any road, there will be curves, bumps, roadblocks and detour signs to watch for.
But that aside, I have another year to stir the pot, poke hypocrisy in the ribs, to nudge some folks to do better at what they do – and I expect/hope friends, colleagues and family will encourage me to do better too. In the end, whether we leave this life early or continue to strive for longevity records – we must remember those who change the world are few. Most people live and die, the earth doesn’t care, and most people won’t notice or retain for long.
Our current causes of climate and peace are not new, but they deserve our attention. Most of us can do little, yet if we all do a little bit, those bits will add up to more than if we do nothing. If we can’t change the world in our lifetime, imagine how much the world might change because we made an effort in our time, nudged others to make some progress too, and encouraged our children and grandchildren to do more than we did; can you imagine a world like that?
Whether tomorrow is focused on your future or your past, or if you are distracted by the priorities of the day, I wish you and yours the best of times, and for those who are struggling through the worst of times, I wish you better times.
P.S. … the visit to Fort Saskatchewan/Edmonton was great - yesterday was an adventure day to WEM (West Edmonton Mall) with kids for fun, food, and fatigue. This morning we will be homeward bound with high hopes for bare, dry roads and light traffic.