372 Days Later

Where has the time gone? Since I last posted here, a lot has changed. I think I have changed and hope that those around me can see and verify that I'm different to the person I was on 9th December 2008.

Since that post I've turned 30, lost my grandad, been to France, worked some ridiculous shifts at my call centre job, ran another 10km race, been to Uganda, quit my job, started training as a teacher, given-up-on-the-youth-work-we-do-only-to-get-excited-and-envisioned-about-it-again (x2), been front row at a U2 gig, seen Delirious for the last time, passed my driving test and a bunch of other stuff that is not at the front of my head at the moment.

I started out the year with 3 goals. To pass my driving test, go to Africa and start teacher training. For the first time in many years I've set and gone some way to hitting those goals.

But my point isn't to say how good I've been. What amazes me is that what marks the year isn't really about keeping your goals and being able to tick things off that you have wanted to do. Very little of the list above is connected to my goals and yet they have marked my year.Some of them have been based around how I responded to situations, not about the goals I set.

Looking back across the first decade of this 21st century, I see an equally long list of things that have happened. Some of which I never anticipated and would never wish to see again. Some brought joy. Some taught hard and painful lessons. Again, not all the dreams I had at the start of the century have happened. But I'd like to think that in responding to the disappointments, joys and change that I've encountered, I've changed for good.

I'm out of practice with this blog thing clearly, as this is a rambling post. But as we start a new year and a new decade, don't just look to set goals that you want to achieve at all costs. Be mindful of how you respond to the challenges and triumphs of the season that is now starting to emerge.