At The End Of The Year

 

“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.” ~ Paulo Coelho

We are 2 days away from the end of the year 2023. It has been a long one – all 363 days of it. This blog edition marks my 52nd musing of the year; for that reason, I can celebrate having kept my commitment to churn out an edition every Friday of the year 2023. Will I be renewing that commitment in 2024? I don’t know . . . you tell me if you want me to, in the comments.

I found a poem that embodies what I feel about coming to the end of this year, aptly titled “At The End Of The Year”, by John O’Donohue.

As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.

The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.

Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.

The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.

The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.

Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.

We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

(c) John O’Donohue To Bless The Space Between 

It will be over in a few hours. What did it bring you? What has it taken from you? Did you earn battle scars from it? Was it all bliss and walking on rose petals?

But most importantly, what are your expectations, hopes, and goals for the new year?

Happy New Year friends.

“I may regret the way we ended, but I will never regret what we had.” ~ Drake