As the door to 2025 closes and the one to 2026 opens, it’s a time to reflect on the journey travelled and lessons learned.
2025 has been a year of adjustment; creating a healthier, more balanced way of life. At first, I missed the hurly burly of organisational life but soon found deep satisfaction in my coaching and consultancy work. Helping others to create more harmony in their lives and their organisations, is both humbling and a real joy. I have slowly created more time and space for my other passion of writing and, while I haven’t finished my next book yet, I have created the framework and started the process. I have also taken on the challenge of writing my father’s life story; taking the many snippets he had put together that reflects how the world had changed during his 98 year tenure.
Yes, there have been frustrations and challenges across the year, but I have learned a lot. I have learned the value of stepping back from the everyday and taking more time to listen to myself and my surroundings. Taking this time enables me to see the small things that truly bring me joy; like watching the little blue tit who has finally decided to move into the nesting box we set up 4 years ago. Being more present on dog walks, rather than thinking about the latest organisational conundrum, I now appreciate more fully how it feels to be outdoors in the woods or walking along a hillside seeing the kites drifting on the thermals. These little things have helped me to understand how precious time is and how important stopping and taking time to ‘be’ really is. For many years I have practiced some form of mindfulness. However, looking back I rather bizarrely, so it now seems, fitted it into my busy schedule; 10 minutes before I started work, or squeezed into a quick dog walk at lunchtime.
This last year has taught me how acceptance brings peace and balance in a way I had never fully appreciated before. I am clear there is a right time and place for everything; this is my time and place to ‘be’ the culmination of all my experiences in a way I had never truly appreciated. As I sit here, I can’t wait to discover what 2026 will bring……