For 2022,
I wish you and your loved ones, far and near,
health, happiness, and good luck.
May you find the way you are looking for,
or at least: may your GPS never leave you stranded.
May the winds of fate only make you stumble,
but never bring you down on your knees.
May the sun shine warm upon your face and melt away all shadows –
but not your ice-cream.
May the rain start falling (soft or cold, in a drizzle or a down-pour)
only after you’ve reached your destination.
May you find friends in unexpected places,
and meet them again
and again and again
in health and happiness.
And throughout the year,
every month,
every week,
every day,
every night,
every hour,
every minute,
every second,
I wish for you
that whatever you believe in
(be it the power of the divine or the power of reason,
philosophical ideals, small dreams or really big visions)
may be a blessing for you,
and guide you and guard you.
Until 2023.
As I reported, we did a lot of cooking yesterday, and spent a thoroughly enjoyable, quiet evening, just cooking and chatting and eating and chatting and listening to the radio instead of watching the telly. We did watch the sketch “Dinner for One”, as is customary in some European countries, but more for tradition’s sake than anything else.
The food turned out amazing, and up until the dessert, I stuck with the planned menu. Then I was just too tired and too full to cook the pudding and switched to a rainbow of fresh fruits with some of the sorbet we had had earlier with champagne. That looked amazing, and it was fresh and light and fun, and we were done at exactly midnight, ready to welcome the new year.
Different from previous years I didn’t do any meditations or journalling or “unwinding of the year” or 12 nights rituals. I realised that I had experienced them often as more stressful than helpful, and I wasn’t in the mood at all to reflect on anything. So I simply skipped all of that. The result was one of the most relaxed end-of-the-year periods I’ve had in years, and I’m really grateful for that. I need to remember that all of those things are supposed to nourish me, not make life even harder to bear. Maybe I’ll feel more introspective and ready for rituals at some point in the future, for other holidays or holy days. Maybe not. For now I’ll go with the flow and hopefully continue to feel more grounded and content.