Christmas Bealtes

“So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, a new once just begun” These classic lines were not sung by the popular bug that appears in Australia around this time of year - but by the infamous John Lennon in his the song entitled Happy Xmas. I found it interesting how it popped into my mind as I was walking through the bush the other day. At first I was flooded with fond childhood memories as my mind took a stroll down memory lane. I recalled the time when we learned the lyrics in preparation for the school Christmas fare when I was in year five. But then my mind quickly moved forward, shifting its focus to the festivities that occur at this time of year.

The holiday season is renowned for end of year celebrations. It’s a time to catch up with those nearest and dearest to us. In most cases this involves friends and family members who (for whatever reason) we have not kept in touch with as frequently as we know that we should have. And what occurs? I dare say the same thing that happens every other year. We exchange pleasantries, ask one another how the others family has been and then what they have been up to. Let me ask you this though - How many of you have found yourself automatically replying with ‘not much’, ‘just the usual’ or ‘nothing exciting’ when the question is asked ‘How have you been?’ or ‘What have you been up to?’ I dare say if you are anything like me or my family it will be the majority of you. And why is this? Is it really the case that nothing has happened in the past 12 months? Until I took the time to ponder this question the other day I really thought that when I responded with the above answers I was responding honestly to their questions. I thought that I lived a fairly boring life where nothing much happened - it really was the same thing and a apart from the daily grind. Perhaps you can relate to this kind of feeling?

 But what if I was to tell you that there is the possibility that you have been lying to yourself and those that you love? You should be ashamed of yourself - after all this is Christmas and lies make baby Jesus cry haha. Relax though - it’s not your fault - as usual it is just the way that we are designed. The human mind is a goal seeking machine. It will set out to achieve a task and then before the dust has even settled will look for the next task to move onto in order to keep itself busy. It seeks out new things to focus on in order to acquire the stimulation that it desires. It’s this natural process that sees us forget the achievements that we have just made regardless of their magnitude.

To give you an example here are a few things that I realised I have done in the last 12 months while I was walking along the trail. Keep in mind I thought that I lived an extremely boring life and at times would wonder what I would talk to people about when interacting at different social events:

• I surpassed some of the financial goals that I set
• I travelled to Cape Town in South Africa for business and had the most amazing meal as the sun set over the ocean at Capes Bay
• I holidayed in Bali for a couple of weeks
• Did a wine tour through the Swan Valley
• I visited the Margaret River for the weekend - and even rode a camel
• I flew to Broome for a few days with one of my best friends
• I attended the Melbourne Cup and had a piggy back ride on the actual track during the day
• I attended a 10 day silent meditation course in the Blue Mountains and studied under a Buddhist Guru
• I made some amazing new friends who I will have for the rest of my life
• I started a blog I didn’t really wanted to start and ended up finding a passion for sharing this stuff with others

I also tried and failed many things including:

• I tried to learnFrench - my teacher ended the professional relationship via a SMS after a few weeks of struggle
• I tried to learn to dance - when we turned up there were no girls to dance with so the teacher made my brother and I dance together. After  minutes he went to the toilet and never came back - I was forced to dance on alone like the sole wolf in a one man wolf pack
• I attempted to woo a number of women unsuccessfully
• And many others - trust me the list is too long and embarrassing to to go on

Now why am I telling you all of this? Am I doing it to impress you? No to the contrary. I am doing it to impress upon you the idea that you are probably living a far more interesting life then you give yourself credit for. You are  trying and achieving different things but as soon as they are done your mind is looking for the next thing to move on to and as a result the experience that you have just been involved in has been forgotten and left in your wake. The idea of this post is to encourage you to take a few minutes to take stock of the last 12 months. Re-examine the year that has been. There may be things you forgot all about and that bring a smile to your face when you think about them. It will make you appreciate life, who you are and what you have been through. When you do this write them down  and don’t just think of them in your head. Am I doing this to be difficult? No - if you write it down they seem more real and you can see the sheer number of things that you have done. 

Once you have done this I encourage you to take a moment to think about if this lives up to the type of life you want to be living? Does it meet the level of fun and excitement that you deserve? And what is not on your list that you would like to have achieved? Write the things that you think are missing in another list and you then have yourself a to-do list for the next 12 months - this time you will have something to cross off and something to be conscious of as you proceed through the next year. In the new year I will be writing a series of blogs about who to go about achieving your goals so hold on to this list.

At the very least  do the first part of the exercise it will give you something to talk to others about over the next few days over Christmas. Wouldn’t it be nice to answer with something other then ‘not much’, ‘just the usual’ or ‘nothing exciting’? Share your experiences with those you love. After all it is the season of giving!

There will be some exciting new developments in the new year. I plan to move this blog to its own website and rebrand it. If anyone has any ideas on names for the new website I would love to hear it. Feel free to post suggestions on the Facebook page or email them through to honeyishrunkthevids@gmail.com

Until we meet again.

Dan

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year