Here we are standing on the brink of 2009 and a lot of people, well I'd like to think there are others that do the same thing at the end of each year anyway, are looking back at the year and wondering about things like:
- What happened?
- What could have been done differently?
- What should have been done?
- What should NOT have been done at all?
One of the things I realised I didn't do a lot of during the year was to blog regularly, but I also now realise it was purely because I didn't believe that I had anything worthwhile to blog about. You see? I considered the "millions" of you that actually read this blog, because some of the days that went by were such that I may just have blogged a lot of nonsense and negativity, so..."If you have nothing good to say, rather say nothing at all".
So, getting back to the end of the year, beginning of the new year thing that I was harping on about at the start. I was wondering about all this stuff and thinking about the points mentioned above, namely what could have been done better, etc, etc, etc. All I realised, after about half an hour of this type of thinking, was that I could never change what has already happened, but I could at least use those experiences gained to ensure that I try and do things better and with more success next year!
For some strange reason most of my thinking ended up around the one major event in my personal life, namely the bike accident I survivied in June of this year. I tend to look at what's happening and what has already happened in my life and it all seems to come back to the 4th of June 2008. I think of how my life has changed since then. I think about the new friends I made through that experience. I think of all the times I've had to tell people about the accident and explain to them what happened.
I think of all the positive influence my story has had already, because I have been able to convince people that what happened to me is not half as bad as what it seems. Yes, there have been the "down" times in my life, but most of the times when I look at my photographs and stories about the accident I realise how blessed I actually am and how much God loves me, because I'm still here and I can still ride a bike, even though it's not right now...today...when it would have been nice to do so, but one day.
I think of a week ago when I got back on a bike for the first time in 6 months...even though I still have a plaster cast on the leg, but anyway... I think of how blessed I am to have friends who have stood by me through this whole, dare I say it, "character building" time in my life. I think of how it felt to get back onto a bike for the first time and how much fun it was just enjoying something that I took for granted in the last while.
Anyway...it's time to start looking to the future and think about that which we want to achieve in this year to come. It's time to start planning for the new year and setting goals and objectives for the short-term, along with the long-term goals we are supposed to have....and I realised I don't really have at this point in my life. I've had medium-term goals and many short-term goals...most of which have not been achieved, since there has been no real planning connected to these goals, but this new year.........
I do not believe in new year's resolutions, because they are made just to make people feel better until the second week of the new year, when half of the resolutions have already been broken again...if not forgotten!! Yet, having said all that, I want to make sure that I plan better in the New Year. I want to make sure that I set myself achievable, yet challenging objectives for the short-term and actually get to a point where I measure the objectives to see whether they have been met and whether they need to be adjusted for future reference.
I, like most other half sane people in the world, want to get to a point where I have to turn down business, purely because I do not have the time or capacity to do what people are asking me to do. With this in mind, however, I still want sufficient time for my family, friends and the Ministry I am involved in. As a matter of fact, I would not mind becoming involved in the Ministry full time, while making sure that my family is cared for and does not suffer financially. (Best of both worlds-type scenario.)
I also want to make sure that I treat those around me with the necessary respect, love and understanding. (Sounds a little like the whole beauty pageant thing, where all the contestants say what their dreams are, and virtually all of them end with the words "...and World Peace!".) But seriously, I want to work on my skills with people, my writing skills and my skill at telling the difference between work and play...and play at work.
Whatever you decide, though, make sure it is to the benefit of people around you, rather than just for your own benefit, because being selfish won't get you anywhere. If you do unto others what you would like to see done unto you, your year will turn out to be much better than you could even anticipate. I promise you...the fact you are alive today means that someone in this world is in need of your specific talents and gifts. Whether it be that you need to talk someone off a ledge, or just hold someone's hand through a difficult seperation, or divorce, it doesn't matter.
I'll probably only blog in the new year again, so...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all that happen to read this.
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