“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make and end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”
Late December always brings a tendency toward reflection. The year is nearly past, magazines and news shows are offering retrospectives, even social media gets into the game with year-end round ups. Some years are full of landmark moments–births and weddings, new jobs and renovations. Other years just glance off your memory like shopping lists. For the Careys 2015 was a year of endings and beginnings, it was a yin and yang of events. Happy milestones and challenging adversity. A balance of what was and what will be.
I suppose most years offer up their fair share of memorable events and we had some great ones this year–topped off with a high school graduation, a soulful family vacation, and a launching into a new era for all of us.
So reflecting on our year, I would call it a year of discovery. This is the year I learned how very lucky I am in my family and friends–people who have stepped up to help and offer support. I learned that there is real positive energy in the world and, when called upon, humans are more than happy to offer what they can. This is also the year I reconnected with people from all the moments of my past–picking up the phone and speaking with college classmates and professors who I have not talked to in nearly 30 years, having coffee with former colleagues, meeting with old friends. There is nothing so gratifying as reconnecting with fellow travelers and sharing experiences. It served as a reminder of all of the smart people who have shared my journey. It has been a year with the gift of unstructured time. A year of long drives and long phone calls. Mostly, 2015 is the year I rediscovered my own voice and gave it expression.
Despite these affirming moments I am anxious to see the end of 2015, if only to reveal the offerings of 2016. I have great hope that it will be a year of beginnings and opportunities. My resolution is to be my best self for the people who share my life–I fully admit that I have been challenged this year in that regard–short tempered and not always appreciative of the small moments that add up to a day that is, on balance, more good than bad. I vow to make this the year that I value those moments. If nothing else, that has been another lesson of 2015–how fortunate we are on so many levels.
So, this year has defined my future in ways that I am only beginning to understand. I believe it has altered the trajectory of my career. I do not know where this path may lead, but I know is has hidden curves, steep hills, and potholes. I hope it also brings some straight, broad avenues, wide-open vistas, and a few easy downhill rambles.