What version of the past is true? [318]

Greetings from the end of 2021…

Greetings!

I started off smiling in this photo but the hurriedly propped monopod started to fall and I thought a light stare might help. It didn’t but I did get this this photo before my phone hit the deck.

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I trust you’ve had time to kick back, reminisce and perhaps even plan.

I said I wouldn’t do an of year email as I was enjoying doing nothing too much.

But I can’t seem to keep away from the keyboard. So while I’m here I thought I’d wish you a Happy New Year for 2022.

I sometimes wonder if something I do might be the last time I do it. It gets me right inside the experience. But although this is certainly the last time I’ll do this in 2021, the journey into the end of this year is happening fast. All I can do is throw a cursory glance in the rear view mirror.

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According to the archive I have sent 75 emails in 2021. That’s well over 100,000 words documenting my perspective around what we share, how we share and where we’re going.

I hope you have done ok, and this last week or so has given you some downtime from all the things that have held you back.

Sometimes it’s felt hard to let go of the past as we step tentatively into an uncertain future. But ultimately I hope you’re looking forward to throwing yourselves into the coming year.

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On the 1st day of 2021 I reflected on 2020…

“Times for many have been hard. And really hard for some. Especially those who have lost loved ones.

But for most, we’ve only had limited freedom of movement and little freedom to mingle. All we had to do was find a way through. It’s important to remember our minds are free from constraint. These limitations may bring change, but they do not stop us living life.”

Right now we might not feel like things have changed much. The pandemic is doing it’s thing. And as we do what we can to get by, we still manage to fill the days.

We can’t let our feelings towards this last year limit the potential of the one to come. It is filled with possibility. And so are you.

Back in dispatch 315 (when we decided to take a break from the usual email format) I asked you to choose one of the options below.

1. Learning 2. Leftovers 3. Listening 4. Links 5. Lifted

‘Lifted’ came out on top and I thought that would be the only post needed. But quite a number of you also wanted ‘Leftovers’ so I also posted another dispatch around that. And so it will continue for ‘Listening’, Learning and Links in that order. But in the new year.

If you missed out on some of last years 75 emails and wanted to have a recap, I have unlocked a few at random. They just happen to be this one when I got my first electric car, this one where I bled, this one where I parted with a loved one, this one where I piece things together, this one where I try to buy a farm by the sea, this one where I discover yer aunt fanny’s cats arsehole, this one where I lost my vlogging kit (got a new one now) and learned to ride long distance with one hand, and this one where I made a new old friend.

There are of course many more and if you were to become a supporting subscriber (please become a supporting subscriber) you need never miss any of these emails or audio posts.

But what of the coming year? Who knows what might happen out there. But right here I hope it’s business as usual. I aim to keep writing, curating and sharing. I’m also in other virtual places should you need online coaching. Plus on top of ‘business as usual’ I will have to do more work that actually pays the bills. So I’m going to head back out into the wild. Coaching, training and producing great audio and video content. In fact I’ll be teaming up with award winning documentary film maker Adrian Storey. No project too big or small and all that.

If you are interested in any of this, you only need reply to this email.

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Thanks for supporting this project and reading this year, and I hope you have a smooth transition into our next trip round the sun.

“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”

~ Noam Chomsky

Hoping for a better future won’t help you escape the present. The promise of a brighter future will manifest in what we do right now.

Let us begin.

See you out there.

Over…

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