New Year - Resolves, Aims and Hopes

New Year – Resolves, Aims and Hopes

 I’ve not been writing much on my blog since the New Year began. The reason? I’ve been caught up in family events, many of which involve travelling an hour into the city or entertaining here in our home in the Hills behind Melbourne. Both these activities take time and energy. And, then on top of that, I’ve set myself a goal of finishing a rough draft of a book I’m writing, to send off to some friends. So, every spare hour or so I’ve been rushing to my computer to do that writing rather than the blog.

New Year in Sydney

New Year in Melbourne

However, in the evening I’ve been contemplated what subject I’d write about on my next blog, when I got around to it. I could write about New Year resolutions, but that seemsda bit irrelevant at my age. I can imagine younger people making resolutions, as the New Year will be a blank to be filled, but for me it is more of the same.

BUT, then I thought, no, I am making plans, which involve resolutions, though, entwined within these resolutions are also Aims (to extend what I was previously doing) and Hopes (that my activities would not be curtailed).

 

Thus here they are, my Resolves, Aims, and Hopes.

Resolves

I will be again preparing this house in Australlia to leave for three months before going to Greece, and when we arrive there, I will be preparing the Greek house to receive us and the guests we expect this year.

Meanwhile I will be endeavoring to keep in touch with friends and family in Australia before we leave, and get in contact again when we return. And, I will make sure that we manage to meet a few folk in Athens and Rhodes, and on Lemnos while we are in Greece.

And, importantly, I will not let all this activity stop me from writing. I managed it  last year and I resolve to do the same this year.

Aims

Within all this activity I have some new directions I want to pursue. as I find this aspect of my writing often the most exciting.

 

After I’ve finished writing my mystery novel (about a mystery on the island of Lemnos) I know I’ll be editing and doing all that stuff, but, I also want to start drafting a second mystery, using the same heroine.

A few people have said they’d like to know what happened later, after the end of my travel/social book about renovating in Lemnos, so I’ve been considering that too. I’m thinking of comparing the two villages, Myrina and Emerald, their people and local activites.

(Takis too has some new directions he is planning – his island marmalade plan – and I’ll have to work around that activity too.)

Hopes and Prayers

Now all the above sound wonderful, and I might get some of it done, BUT, as you know, the world continues to rotate around the sun, and as they say ‘stuff happens’.

 

So, thinking about this, and how it could impact on my wonderful plans, I wonder what I can do about it.

Thus, I resolve not to be distracted by Prideful Politics or the Pestilent Press. This is difficult, as it’s such a temptation to look at the news on my computer, before I start sending off emails or opening up my writing files. One answer is to strongly resolved not to do so. And, it can’t do any harm to HOPE that we do not have so many prideful politicians and pestilent journalists this year!!

Then there is the weather. This is definitely something that impacts on ones’ activities. I hope and pray for good weather, for me and for you all. We can direct such pleas to God, but also to the politicians as global warming increases.

But our prayer for no fires, floods, tornadoes (and thus, no burnt out homes, no water surging through our houses, and not falling trees that smash our cars and the power lines) is something that we can’t just leave to the Politicians and God. We have to do our small bit – recycling, planting more trees.

 

Lastly I hope and pray for good health. As with the two hopes above, I can do my little bit, but on the whole one has to accept that this too is mostly in the hands of the gods.

 

However, I’ll close with the hope and prayer that there is enough good health to go around for you all to accomplish most of your resolves, and to begin those new directions you’ve thought about.