And so we wrap up another year. Thank you for reading! For writing. For thinking. For questioning. For sharing.
What will be our enduring collective memory of 2015, I wonder? I am sure we will all look at the events in Paris as one of the defining moments of the year. The harrowing photos of endless streams of desperate refugees fleeing a war zone. The passing of a rugby legend. The lifting of a back-to-back Rugby World Cup and the spontaneous gifting of a winner's medal. The seemingly endless random shootings in American malls, churches, clinics. So many pivotal moments. Amazing highs. And logic-defying lows.
Bringing it closer to home what have been the defining points in your personal narrative of the year?
• What themes have shown up consistently for you this year?
• Have you given more than you've gotten?
• Have you swum against the tide or gone with the flow?
• Have you been taken for granted or felt appreciated and valued?
• Have you taken a risk and stepped outside the comfort zone?
• What did you commit to achieve and did you bring it home?
• What fell by the wayside despite best intentions?
• What have you learned about yourself this year? Are you smarter, braver or more courageous than you thought?
• Who has come into your life in the last 12 months?
• Of what are you the most proud?
• What do you most regret?
• What are you most grateful for?
• What did you not do that in retrospect you wish you did?
• What did you do that in retrospect you wish you hadn't?
• What worked out better than you could have imagined?
• Which moment made your heart sing above all others?
• If you could go back in time and change one thing about the year what would it be?
• What do you wish you had known at the start of the year that you know now?
• If you had one word to define 2015 for you, what would it be?
Taking a moment to ponder is so valuable. It not only means we consciously extract some wisdom from the experiences of 2015, it sets us up for the year to come. So as this year closes - with the slap of jandals on hot tarmac, and smell of sunscreen on the breeze - what do you wish for 2016?