Life is live!

Life is live!

How do you best start the New Year? Should new grand plans and bold New Year’s resolutions be the priority? Or is it more appropriate to start with a review of the past in order to be able to formulate not just a new but hopefully a more wise plan for the 365 days ahead? I have been thinking about this a lot. At this time of year we come across various guides on how to improve on business or private life. Now don’t get me wrong, I think self improvement books and articles certainly are often a huge help. But as for me, I currently find myself in a position where I actually don’t look for any new and fancy plan. The issue that stands out the most and which I consider one of the greatest blessings as well as one of the greatest challenges in life is the unexpected – the things we cannot plan.

We usually plan and try to foresee any possible twists and turns that might come our way in order to be fully prepared. But then life takes a turn, hands us a beautiful surprise or out of the blue confronts us with the greatest challenge we have ever faced. Suddenly our carefully thought through Plan A, B or even C will just not work. Situations like these are not easy to deal with. To highlight the unexpected might therefore sound a bit odd coming from me – whose profession in part relies on meticulous planning and careful foresight. And I must admit, I can be a bit of a control freak at times. But I bow to the fact that “life is live” – that’s an unavoidable truth! I am so thankful that I don’t know and can’t always plan for what will be coming my way. How else, you see, would we be able to embrace the future if we were to know all that it contains? The issues of trust and letting go have become so important and vital to me this past year. Not everything in 2013 turned out the way I would have preferred it, but I was sustained in every situation. At the beginning of this New Year I want to express my gratitude for this fact and that’s what this post essentially is about.

Next to some marvelous things, this past year has also been a tremendous challenge for me as well as for my family. Life was full of surprises, sometimes to a seemingly unbearable extent. But here I am at the very beginning of a new year, full of gratitude for the past and standing on my tip toes in excitement about the days ahead. I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who trusted me in my professional work who elevated and challenged me, who helped me grow and refine my work even further. I thank all of you, more than I can ever express. Some of you stood by me in my challenges others surprised me with gifts of love and appreciation. And with all I am, I can say I am humbled and thankful to God, who in his grace was there every step of the way. He provided what I needed, showed me the way, blessed me with many unplanned things, opened closed door, and always took care of my soul. My success I owe to him.

I am not starting 2014 with an elaborate and perfectly thought out plan, but rather with an openness for what lies ahead. Whatever will come my way, it will contribute to my personal and professional growth. I intend to savor the many wonderful, unique and blessed moments that I will encounter this year. Some things we can plan, some not, but nonetheless, an exciting year lies ahead with many unbelievable and beautiful moments for each and every one of us! Some we might even experience together  – I would love that!

Wishing all of us a great 2014 filled with many blessings!

xxoo

 P.S.: …. “Danke” means “thank you” in German.