As the year is wrapping up to a finale, I wanted to write my final blog with a thank you, this is what I have learned, what I wish for you and your families, and a very big Merry Christmas all rolled into one!
By the time you are reading this I will have set sail on a big cruise liner (not P&O!) with my entire family, an epic adventure and opportunity to relax and enjoy one another’s company. People keep asking me what ports we are going to and the truth is I’m not great with detail, but in my defense when this was booked I had a 2 week old baby and at that point I was happy to go round and round and round in circles in the Sydney Harbour – I mean who cares where you go people?!!!!
I got all of the suitcases out in preparation for packing this week and I found an old airline tag still wrapped around mine. It represented a journey I travelled not that long ago, a rugged one in fact. As I stared at that crinkly piece of paper wrapped around the handle, I pondered the concept of “baggage”, it’s a concept that is thrown around a lot and generally not in a positive light! I looked into that empty suitcase, waiting to be jam packed full of all things new this time around and thought how incredible life is but mostly at how my “baggage” was still all stuffed in there never to be forgotten, but in its healthy place.
There is no doubt 2013 for me personally has been the highlight of my life, a new baby boy who was worth all the years and tears. It’s been a challenge, complete change in lifestyle and a road that has taken me to places of my soul I didn’t know existed.
What I continue to learn through myself and others experiences, is that life absolutely NEVER goes to plan for anyone all of the time. And what I say to that is – thank God! A generalized statement perhaps, but as human beings we want what we want when we want them. Full stop! Truth be told sometimes those things aren’t actually the best option for us, or sometimes it’s not in the destination but rather the path by which we have to fight for, push for, dig deep for and aim for in life which makes us the best version of ourselves and contributes to that suitcase bulging at the seams with all kinds of amazing!
I don’t know what 2013 has looked like for you and I certainly don’t know what 2014 has in store for even myself. But what I can say is that whatever you are doing today, whoever you are with, wherever you are in the journey of life, your suitcase has been jam packed over the course of your life with experiences, skills, relationships, knowledge and strategies that you need to make it through your next trip. You may need to re- fold, swap some items, pack lighter, increase your baggage capacity or dare I say minimize, but it is all in there – you might just need to dust it off and bring it out of storage.
Perhaps this year has not finished how you had hoped, someone or something is missing, the ending or beginning of a dream has not panned out well, or maybe you have a three letter coded destination strapped on your suitcase that you want to ignore – a place of unknown, dread or fear that has you paralyzed? Whatever your “baggage” – trust in the process of life, but mostly trust in yourself to be “strong and courageous” to walk into a new year knowing that next time you pull out your bag you could very well be heading to the destination you have been waiting for.
Thank you to all of those who I have loved and received loved from this year in various forms, to all I have had the privilege of walking alongside as you pack and unpack your suitcase, to those who have come and gone, old and new, close and far away – I wish you all a safe and incredibly blessed Christmas and an even better New Year.
Lisa
x x x
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