Another year ends soon. Only one more month to go. And the end of 2019 is special, because it doesn’t just end a year, but a whole decade.

Had you realized? It only hit me this morning. Ten years! Again. Time flies and I am getting older, and hopefully wiser, filling my days with more than just work, getting involved in causes I believe in. 🙂

We are so often stuck in the day to day that we rarely take out the time to reflect and think about what we are grateful for. I know 10 years are a long time. So much has happened and not everything was good, right? This last year has brought a lot of negative news and sentiments for many reasons (environment, fires, drought, governments, wars, …). It is important to reflect on the bad, too, but today I want to invite you all to end the year on a high.

Let’s celebrate the good things. 🙂

What are you celebrating? What is it you are grateful for? Please share your thoughts with me. 🙂

For me there are a lot of things and this is by far not an exhaustive list, just the first things that came to mind:

• Having the freedom to live in a country that is laid back and safe
• Great friends
• Still being with the same man (this is now well over a decade) 🙂
• Discovering my love for dogs, getting involved with a dog rescue, learning so much and seeing their faces light up when spending a little time with them until they find their furever homes
• Participating in Plastic Free July in 2014 for the first time and starting my journey towards zero waste
• Attending the Purpose conference and discovering that there are many people and organizations out there who are doing good (and that it’s a whole movement, changing this planet one step at a time)
• Becoming a member of the Manly Food Co-Op and its community
• Joining the board and saving the Co-Op and now, after 2 years, seeing it thrive and set up for success
• Making many new friends in Australia
• Regular camping trips, hiking and enjoying the outdoors
• Living by the ocean including morning walks along the water and cliffs
• Snorkeling in Cabbage Tree Bay
• Stand Up Paddle Boarding
• Good food and cooking
• Having a sneaky drink out
• Lovely get-togethers and BBQs on the beach or balcony
• Yearly Christmas Cookie Baking Sessions which became a tradition
• Marvelous colleagues who became good friends
• Being introduced to formal coaching through work
• Being able to travel and explore new cultures (Japan was one of my best adventures ever)
• Visiting Germany to re-connect with family and friends
• Not losing the contact to good friends back in Germany despite the distance
• Going part time in 2016
• A glass of icy cold sauvignon blanc or rose on the verandah
• Being able to chose how to live my life without any external constraints
• Having a positive outlook on life
• Being healthy
• Watching cockatoos’ and lorikeets’ antics
• Growing my own veggies and fruit
• A friendly stranger saying hello on the street
• Friends who are always there to help when needed
• …

I could go on and on and on. So many positive things have happened and are happening to us every day. Stop and reflect and things will look a lot rosier than you think.

What will 2020 bring?

The world is your canvas. Make the most of it! 🙂