Wishing all my friends all the very best for 2021 in saying “Happy New Year”.
2020 has been a very strange year where our whole world seems to have been reordered and the peculiar has become the new normal.
It has been a time of tragedy and today I am remembering all of those I knew personally, and even those I had never met, who will not be seeing in 2021 with the rest of us. May light perpetual shine upon them and may they rest in peace. May all the things I most loved and cherished about them be reflected in my own life so that their memory will be honoured.
It also has been a time of joy and celebration, with the formation of new friendships, and the renewing of old ones. It is a testament to how times of difficulty and uncertainty can draw people together, and even if we cannot meet face-to-face, we can be united with friendship and love.
As we enter a new year, may we be comforted by the words of Max Ehrmann in his poem Desiderata. “Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness” and more importantly of all, “Whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”
