For anybody who writes creatively, the words on a blank page only appear and take their shape as the writer makes way for courage and vulnerability. These two ways of being co-exist in the process. To write freely in my journal that you will never see (hopefully) is a beautiful practice enabling a blank page to hold and heal the musings of an often heavy heart. To open a new page on a computer with the aim to write something that might be shared is another. I want to continue to let courage lead and in those moments hope that when the vulnerability that comes from putting myself out there, my initial resolve to do so will win the battle of self doubt.

I’ve never been one for new year’s resolutions, yet acknowledge that the beginning of a year is a wonderful opportunity to pause, reflect and where possible, to start afresh. The word ‘resolution’ carries with it a sense of determined action, or as one meaning states, it is ‘the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc..’ In light of this, to adopt a stance of resolution implies an expectation that there’s going to be some hard work ahead to achieve my goals. Of course this is not to say that effort required for the journey ahead is not necessary, but perhaps there is an easier way to set out on the road.

For those of us privileged to have a summer break at the end of the year, slowing down and reflecting on the past year is one of the gifts offered by that time, and also considering what might lie ahead is a helpful experience. Hindsight is always a good teacher and creates a more realistic approach to what might be expected or experienced in the year to come. At the end of 2021 I made a life-changing decision. I decided to ‘go grey’. It might seem quite dramatic and extreme way to describe it as life-changing in light of the many major decisions that people are making and have been forced to make during this season of unprecedented change and enormous unpredictability. Going grey might seem like a small thing, but I’ve found that the small things that we experience on our journey contain the greatest meaning and opportunities for life; learning and flourishing. So if you feel like reading another story about an on-trend topic, here it is…