dancingthroughchaos

‘There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.’ CS Lewis

When I was a student forty years ago, studying for a fairly useless degree in the ancient capital of England, we had ten-week terms, each of which ended with a meeting called Review/Preview.

Our lecturers wanted to ensure that we had not only assimilated, but understood what we had been studying, be it medieval theatre or telling a story through the medium of television or street theatre.  Since, for some unknown but peculiarly obsessive reason, I kept a rudimentary journal at the time, I could have accounted for every day of my time there, had such a thing been required. 

Prior to going on to the next body of the curriculum, which was laid out so tantalisingly before us, we were required to look back over the previous weeks and draw out the highs and lows of the term while considering what, if anything, we had learned.

I have often wondered since, whether this is not also a constructive way of leaving the old year and entering the next. The world has been happy to leave behind the isolating Covid years, as much as any of us can, so perhaps a review is unnecessary and unwelcome; however, I thought I might give it a go for 2022 by dividing the year into loose categories. 

Fitness: I began the year with the noble intention of following an online App to train until I could run 5km in thirty minutes.  New years, as you know, are full of good intentions.  I was thwarted in the very first week of January 2022 by contracting Covid which put the whole schedule out. Girding up my loins, I re-engaged until the weather caused me to abandon venturing outside altogether (three full-on gales in a week did nothing to keep the fires of grand resolve burning brightly), followed by a week of being ill and an unfortunate knee injury which prompted me to abandon the whole regime.  (I wrote about this in my July 27th blog; feel free to check it out.) Despite a physiotherapist, that joint still growls at me as the year turns.  All in all, not quite the great result I was hoping for.  However, a highlight was circumnavigating most of the Isle of Wight with both my sisters in the summer.  Blisters aside, it was a wonderful time.

Reading: I set myself the task of reading 52 books in the course of twelve months.  One per week seemed reasonable, and I happily – even slightly smugly – completed that task by 8th September.  Many have been good, a few quite brilliant and one or two more dire than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I am currently on book number 72, and still have time to complete another, I hope.

Travel: finally we were all allowed to journey beyond our own towns or villages this year.  After the limitations of the pandemic years, this was both a relief and a novelty for most of us.  Easter saw me getting on a plane and travelling 6,000 miles south to South Africa, almost exactly two years to the day since we were repatriated to the UK when lockdown kicked in.  I’ll be seeing in the new year there as a fresh chapter opens for us all.  We also joined our relational team in Switzerland for a few days where mountains were climbed, lives shared, news caught up on, and laughter enjoyed.

Work: it’s been a year when I organised myself more effectively.  When I look back at where I made progress with my writing this year, I feel it’s not inappropriate to raise a glass and file the body of work in the ‘success’ pile.  I’ve been privileged to be published in a popular online magazine every month throughout 2022; I’ve upped my game and written this blog twice a monthly rather than bimonthly,  had articles included in at least two other magazines, and worked on a non-fiction manuscript.

The highlight, of course, has been seeing my children’s book, The Magnificent Moustache and other stories, published (available to order on line and through all good bookshops). 

This has led, as I hoped back in January, to enjoy creative writing sessions in a number of primary schools where we play imagination games and enjoy interactive learning.  It’s been enormous fun and more opportunities beckon.

Family: perhaps this should be higher up the review list, and in terms of priorities that’s definitely true.  My husband and I celebrated our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary in November and are still laughing and adventuring together.  We’ve enjoyed time with each of our four grown-and-flown offspring recently, who are all flourishing in their careers.  In fact, we ‘did’ Christmas together in the middle of November in order to take advantage of the only opportunity to gather everyone together in one place.  The first-time-cooking-the-turkey-in-an-aga experiment was a roaring success; phew!

My mother celebrated her 90th birthday in July which she enjoyed far more than she’d anticipated.  It included friends, family, a cream tea, and some blisteringly hot weather.  She’s also gained another great-grandchild and for me, a great nephew.

Friends: we’ve lost a few this past year, which has been sobering, but enjoyed food, laughter and conversation with countless others.

Faith: the challenges of life always stretch us further than we think possible, so I am always encouraged to arrive in December and take the opportunity again to remind myself of the timeless message of Christmas: Emmanuel – God with us.  Our circumstances change, but He does not.

I could add other categories, but those seem to cover most of life.  In terms of politics, there’s precious little I can do about the fact that the UK got through three Prime Ministers and a monarch in the course of just a couple of months this year.  Not our finest hour.  As in any other cycle of twelve months, there have been highs and lows for the nation, for me and for my family as, doubtless, there have been for you wherever you are located. 

All of which brings me to the preview part.  What can I see I as I peer through the fog of 2023?  The view is certainly significantly less clear than the curriculum we were presented with in those far off student days.  It can be fun to speculate on what a year may hold but the truth is that none of us can see very far at all. 

For myself, I always look forward to the special family celebrations; the opportunity to travel and the chance to reunite with old friends. I hope that 2023 will afford such delights.  I plan to do significantly more writing in this next year.  I have a manuscript to complete and another which needs the dust blowing off it and some re-crafting before it’s submitted to a publisher.  There are already more school visits booked, and I am hoping those increase in frequency. 

Fitness?  With a nomadic lifestyle, it’s hard to settle into a consistent routine, which is always the arch-enemy of such regimes.  However, I will soon hit the three year anniversary of my brush with cancer and am trusting for the all clear, which will bring me beyond the half way mark to the five year finishing tape, after which I can stop taking daily medicines. That will be a milestone to celebrate.  I’m also looking forward to discovering a plethora of new books of all varieties to stimulate, educate and entertain me throughout 2023.

All of this is very satisfying.  

Less exciting are the challenges that loom for all of us with rising fuel, food and energy prices and global uncertainties in politics, and beyond. The conflict in Ukraine continues to the detriment of everyone.  It is no surprise that Time magazine has announced that President Volodymyr Zelensky is their person of the year; an extraordinary individual who we’d all probably love to poach as Prime Minister for ourselves.

In spite of all this, my review/preview leaves me enormously grateful for not only what has passed, but for what is yet to come and the genuine contentment in being alive to experience so much that is good and life-giving.  How about you?

Whichever way the road leads, I want to be sure that’s an attitude which stays with me throughout 2023.

Happy New Year!