As 2015 comes to a close I feel the need to reflect on what has happened, what I have accomplished and the things that stood out for me. As a writer, I want to edit out all the bad things that have happened to strengthen the positive aspects of 2015 but I can’t.
The year was particularly hard, having to deal with some experiences I never had to face before and those devastating blows still linger. I know the effects were like ripples in a pond when a boulder is dropped into it and then I feel selfish for feeling the way I do and I hide deeper within.
Being afraid of talking it out can be just as dreadful as keeping it all in so I promise myself to write about it all. Planning a regular entry in a journal or seeping it out through characters in a next novel helps me to look forward to my own healing process. Each word I write replaces a tear I would have shed otherwise but has something to show for it.
Healing, loss, conquering fears and living through passion are all personal processes we need to discover on our own. Death and financial hardship don’t pale in comparison at all to the glories of life and success, they are completely different colours. Like a garden you’ve planted, tended to and watched grow, weeds can creep in but also the most gorgeous flowers and vegetables you’ve ever seen. Both you want to pick out while both are crucial to the overall plot of your story.
All in all, my wish for you, Dear Reader, is that no matter what kind of year 2015 was for you, I want your 2016 to be stupendously better in all ways. You have the power to make it so, by learning from your full story of yesteryear and discovering who you are both while standing in the middle of your garden and running the city streets.
Rejoice in your life as you’re the only one who can live it.
Thanks for being part of my year, past and future.
Sarah Butland