Reflections

It’s a tradition of mine, so I set aside some time this morning to think back over the past year.

What always astounds me is how many things happened that, on first acquaintance, seemed to be problems but turned out to be gifts in the end. This year has seen quite a few of these gifts, perhaps because I’ve been far more aware of this amazing ability of problems to turn into solutions.

It always feels right to me to give thanks on the last day of the old year, before turning my thoughts to the many wonderful things that the new year will bring. Looking back, there has been so much to appreciate; prominent among the gifts of the old year have been this blog, and all of you whom I’ve met virtually as a result of Ms. Bookish. Every comment, every email, every tweet – it’s all meant so much to me.

What I’ve discovered this year is that the world beyond my doorstep, beyond my own little nook of physical space, is filled with an abundance of kindred spirits – Anne Shirley would truly be in her element in today’s online world.

This morning, a poem slipped into my inbox, courtesy of the Panhala email list, and it was such a beautiful accompaniment to my own reflections:

As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.

…

We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

- John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us

I’d like to finish up this post with another special something that I received via email. Many of you have probably already seen this; I think it’s so appropriate to today, when we stand in that reflective gap between the old year and the new.

Because truly, all we need is love.

In … one breathtaking moment, musicians from 156 countries played “All You Need is Love” together. Watch now, as musicians from all around the world come together and share a song.

Happy new year, everyone!!

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Tagged as: holidays, New Year's Eve