Making peace with 2012

New Year’s Eve 2012 – there were times I thought I wouldn’t make it here. My year started on such a high with moving into our new house and getting married. I had two weeks where I was calm, relaxed and at peace. I loved those two weeks because it was the only time all year I felt like that.

For the newcomers, my year included watching my friends lose their jobs, having to fight for my own, falling pregnant, miscarrying the baby and learning how to survive. It also included watching my loved ones lose their jobs, homes, children, marriages, brothers and mothers. It’s been a challenging year to say the least, but I’ve decided to make my peace with 2012.  

As I think about all the people I know who have survived the hard times of 2012, there’s one thing we all have in common – we’ve got to know who we really are. Life throws you in the deep end sometimes and you have to decide if you will sink or swim. You have to decide if you’re going to be a survivor or a victim. You have to decide how you will move on with life, choosing between living in peace or anxiety.

As a result of those decisions, you learn things about yourself, others and life in general. You develop strengths you never knew you had. You develop new perspectives on every aspect of your life. You figure out what and who is really important in life. You no longer bother sweating the small stuff. You learn to appreciate everything you have so much more. But most importantly, you became proud of yourself for making it through.

I’ve seen people literally, in the depths of despair this year. People at their very lowest point, including myself! But I’ve also seen amazing triumphs of the human spirit where people refuse to just lay down in the dirt. I’ve been immensely inspired by people’s resilience to true tragedy – by the way they handle themselves, support others, refuse to give up and just manage to get out of bed in the morning.   

I have many reasons to hate this year but I also have many reasons to love it. I feel conflicted about 2012 because it bought me such immense highs and such crushing lows. In the end, I’ve made my peace with 2012. I’ve decided to appreciate it for the opportunities for personal growth it provided me. I’ve realised that in the end, it was just reality so there’s no point analysing it, trying to decipher it or asking why it all happened. 2012 just was.

Tomorrow, I get a fresh start. I will wake up with excitement to see what 2013 brings me. I will walk into the new year older, wise and fearless knowing I can handle anything it wants to throw at me.  

Happy 2013 to you all. May it bring us all peace, love, joy, happiness and our heart's true desires!

Image by pat138241

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