Reflections of the year

Besides Christmas, New Year is my favourite occassion of the year. It'd better be.

Although I do have some mixed feelings about the coming year, the prospect of starting over brings hope that things will get better. As usual, no resolutions from me but a chance to pursue dreams, begin new journeys and bid goodbye to the negative things of the previous year. It is also a time to count my blessings and be thankful for every little thing that I'm are blessed with.

Life is one big adventure and the choices we have are abundant but not without endless forks on the roads too. When I made the decision to take a break from work this year, I thought my world will come to a standstill for me but oh no, I was wrong. I have learnt some of life's important lessons that I never imagine I would've experienced at work.

Caught in the rut of everyday life, I was so consumed with worry and anxiety, that I have forgotten about my true nature. In April, I left earthly comforts aside and together with some friends, we joined The Pilgrimage Walk from Batu Caves to Maran covering 204km for 3 days. The journey was an eye-opener.
The Lesson : I should try to shift my values more towards people and relationship and less towards accumulating things. There are many things in life I don't really need. I've become more aware of what I take with me and what I don't.

Then I had another mind blowing experience at the Silent Retreat at Lucky Valley with breathworks and this time, witnessed a past life regression from Kim who travelled with me there.
The Lesson I learnt did not come from Breathworks or a past life regression. It came from the phrase 'LISTEN TO YOUR HEART'. But at times, I asked myself again and again "how do I know if the 'leading' is right?" Many times, I've got to learn it the hard way.

And there at the Hospis Daycare where I served as a volunteer, I met a group of new friends. I learned from patients and fellow volunteers the new meaning of life. Cancer patients who continue to battle so tirelessly in order to light up the lives of others and serving as an inspiration to always celebrate life - no matter how tough the going gets, humbled me.

I attended my first workshop with Hospis Malaysia on Palliative Care in August where love and compassion was once again emphasized to me. I learned the signifance of talking less and listening more, as Epictetus so aptly puts it, " Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak".

As for running, this year I ran two full marathons in KL and Pattaya. A few more half marathons but the ones I enjoyed most must be The Ocean to Ocean Relay Run in Thailand, JW Cameron Run, Penang Bridge Run and Powerman at Lumut (where I went just to support John and my other friends). And closing the year with a little boost for me was the recent Putrajaya 12hr Walk.

There we go...as we enter into a brand new decade, may we continue to count our blessings, big or small.

"It is good to have money and things that money can buy, but it's good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things money can't buy." - George Lorimer