Select Page

OK.  So how many of us woke up this morning wondering why we ate so much yesterday and promising ourselves that we will get back to our pre-Christmas weight in January?  And how many of us woke up wishing we hadn’t drunk quite so much Christmas tipple, promising ourselves that we won’t do that again in a hurry?  And how many of us will break both those promises to ourselves today, or at the latest on New Year’s Eve?!!

I can put my hand up to the first one, but not the second.  Family dynamics can be quite a challenge at Christmas time, so I figure that it’s best if I don’t contribute to possible upheavals as can sometimes happen when alcohol has been over-imbibed!! 

Also it leaves me with a clear head for a little bit of day-dreaming!  Instead of groaning about a headache and a muzzy head, I can sit with a cup of tea and gaze into the middle distance dreaming of what next year could bring!  I usually do that in another room, so it doesn’t make the rest of the family look at me strangely! 

I also look back on the year that’s just gone and think about what I’ve achieved.  Is it what I wanted to do?  What directions has my life suddenly gone in that weren’t on the horizon this time last year?  Is that what I want?  It’s good to pat yourself on the back for the things that you’ve achieved and reflect on things that haven’t gone quite as you planned before turning your attention on what goals you’d like to aspire to in the coming year. 

I try not to have too many major plans in mind because life has a habit of filling up anyway, but I want a few targets to aim for so that I have a direction to begin the year with. 

This coming year I am planning a little more relaxation time.  I’m a workaholic because I just adore my job – being self-employed and doing something I love is wonderful and I thank my lucky stars every day.  But being self-employed has its own problems, and you don’t earn anything unless you get out there and create a market!  So self-employment and workaholics seem to go together.  Having said that, I really do need to learn to put up stop signs so I don’t work too many 12 hour days…. 

What about you?  What kinds of goals do you make?  Are they work-related, family-oriented, friends-centric? 

Most people in my area think weaving is a kind of exotic occupation.  Interesting that such a change of view has happened in just one generation.  Up until the end of the C20, people in the next village were employed in the weaving mill down the road (now apartments!) but now weaving is seen as a rarity and quite romantic!!  Then when they see what I weave, they are taken aback.  What I weave isn’t what most people associate with weaving….  so there’s a job right there – educating people about what weaving can be, and the breadth of the subject is awe-inspiring. 

I start a masters degree in January.  My 3-year part-time course is going to take in geology, geophysics, and the philosophy of landscape translated through weave but that is a challenge I relish because it will be challenging my weave knowledge, and my understanding of the world, as well as pushing my abilities as a teacher to new heights as I seek to share the knowledge I gain. 

What could be a better way to start the new year than with something that will be so absorbing, and combining my love for nature with my curiosity for how the world works, plus learning how to think about the relationships of people and the world, then expressing that through my passion for weave?  Heaven on earth!! 

I wish you your heaven on earth for 2011!!