Letting in the New You

As we say farewell to the last decade, many of us will be reflecting on what the last 10 years has been like for us. Was it good, was it bad, or was it just simply another 10 year cycle where nothing very much happened except we got older – but did we get any wiser?

I started 2010 embarking upon a new life in the country with all sorts of hopes and dreams with my then partner but have ended it in 2019 on a completely different course with someone else entirely.

For me, it has been a decade of great loss as both my parents passed on plus the loss of a great niece who also died at birth. It was a decade of heaps of anxiety involving witnessing the demise of my dear Father at the hands of dementia and experiencing deep personal loss with his death. To cap it all, my beloved Labrador went to the rainbow in the mix of all this. Sadly, living the dream was short-lived as my fractious relationship finally broke up, we parted ways, the glass cracked into a thousand pieces and my life shattered with it.

So, you could say that I am not sorry to see the back of The Teens but as I look behind me there are of course lots to be thankful for, which I may have lost sight of at the time as I was drowning in sorrow. I am reflecting on an era where I’ve met a plethora of decent, genuine and extremely kind people as I watched the outpouring of love for me and my family in times of grief. Real friends have been amazing and my rock during the last few tumultuous years. I have also had the good fortune to come across new and better ways of managing both myself and my life, which would not have happened had I not been through the aforementioned experiences which made me need to reach out for help. I would not have experienced the power and healing of meditation and made a whole new set of like-minded friends in Fairlight which, in itself, has been the ultimate tonic no doctor could have prescribed.

As we go into 2020 and a new decade, and if you are dreading what’s ahead of you, hold on to the fact that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In times of crisis we need to dig deep and draw on our inner resilience for survival. Yes I have had a bumpy journey but I am still here to tell the tale and to share it. If I had made various alternative choices I would not have had experienced all I have about myself whilst I was going through my emotional roller coaster ride. Painful events and traumatic experiences or even just the struggle of life itself often requires a helping hand. Sharing is caring and sharing it with Jeff at Oak Lodge has turned my life around, for sure. I am now looking forward to the future with a new approach to so many things in life, be it finances, relationships or just simply about how I can be the best version of me.

If you feel on the edge right now then I am the living proof that you can come out the other side with hope and even joy; a Joy you might be thinking right now you may never experience again. So be aware that it need only temporary and you can do something about that if you decide to. So decide to do something right now!

D.E.T 1st January 2020