New Years is just around the corner and in a similar vein to last year, we will again be dogsitting Paavo the dachshund. His owners are going out and since fireworks are legal here a few times a year, it is better not to leave dogs alone, as the explosions kick their PTSD from a past life into gear, and they can panic. Though, Paavo didn't seem to care that much last year, and turned in early, not wanting to celebrate the coming year.
Year changes shouldn't matter and I used to not care much for them at all, but I now see them as more significant than my own birthday. That isn't saying much, as I don't care about my birthday, but my meaning is that the end of year is a more valuable reflection point than any other. Though, "value" in this case shouldn't really matter, because a yearly reflection could be done on any day.
However, I think that it does actually make more sense to do it now, because pretty much most of our lives are aligned with the economy in some way, where for instance, this is the time of year that people will take their holidays. It might originally be due to some religious traditions, but I reckon now, it is more out of financial reasoning.
Like every year, my plan is to get my life into better shape, whether that be personally or interpersonally. I will likely do a reflection of 2024 at some point, but by mid-year, things were looking pretty good, as I was starting to align myself personally and building a foundation for my career in 2025, but it all fell apart in the last three months of the year. If circumstances had been slightly different, 2025 was shaping up to be a pretty good year professionally, which would have been more than welcome. But,
Sliding doors.
It is actually quite fascinating how different things could be if there were slightly different outcomes. For instance five years ago, one of my friends was in a fantastic professional and financial position, having sold one of their businesses, building another two successfully and everything was running smoothly. However, their marriage came to an abrupt end, and the divorce become so messy there could be a movie made about it, and things just fell out of alignment from there. One knock-on problem after another, and they are probably going to lose the last thing they own - at no fault of their own. While I don't always agree with them, no one deserves they way they have been treated.
When it rains, it pours.
And it is hard to come out from under the covers when it is raining heavily, but that is what needs to happen. When everyone else would be seeking shelter, it is time to work in the mud. And I think a lot of people are looking for shelter of some form these days, even if it isn't raining that much in their lives. I reckon that in the past, people were more equipped or the culture was more conducive to overcoming challenge and adversity, because there just wasn't any other option available to survive. It was more "do or die" and now, there are not only more safety nets, but also more places to run to for shelter, even if it is just for psychological safety through avoidance.
The sounds of fireworks are mistaken for falling bombs.
There is a lot of terrible shit going on in our world and many are facing an uphill battle, but like I was saying to a friend that was visiting this evening, own it. We were talking about financial ownership, but it is also taking ownership of all the other challenges we face in our life too, isn't it? Like my other friend who is losing it all, even if it is not their fault, they are the ones who have to live in those conditions. It is their house, like it or not.
It is impossible to avoid challenging situations, because they are based on our experiences. What some find difficult, others might barely struggle with, because they have gone through worse prior. But, it is also not a great way to live to always feel like life is a struggle, that everything is difficult to do, because it is soul-sucking. How long can one keep fighting, when every win is followed by a worse loss?
And this is what we should be looking to mitigate in our planning for the future, right? We can't predict everything, and we know that things aren't all going to go to plan, but we have to have a strategy in place for when it all falls apart. Because the faster we can recover, the more chance we have to improve the conditions. If we dwell for too long, we become that person, stuck in a rut, unable to move on, because unable to let go.
Fuck the rain.
I think that even if the result is drowning in the flood waters, it is better to attempt for higher ground, than just give up and stop trying. Yet I still wonder - how far can I swim?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
