HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Trying to post one of the first blips of 2012 - on GMT at any rate.

I'm celebrating the New Year quietly at home with my wonderful man - no-one I would rather be with at any time after a wonderful 15 and a half marvellous years together.

As a mindfulness teacher, I encourage my students to live in the present moment as much as possible, without regret or clinging the past, and without fear or longing for the future. But as this moment is the New Year I am unashamedly indulging in some reflection on the year just ended and the possibilities for 2012.

2011 was full of new possibilities: my son and I collaborated on a book about his adoption and it was published in July. I became a mindfulness teacher and established a new social enterprise, Everyday Mindfulness Scotland. I took up yoga and wished I had done so 20 years ago. We had some great walks in the Sierra Ronda. I started to blip in earnest and began to get excited about what I could do with photography, especially since I got my DSLR in October. On 31 December 2010 I could not have been sure that any of these things would happen - indeed I had no inkling that blippery would become so central to my days. There were some dark days in 2011 too, but we survived, mainly due to the unstinting support of my better half and my developing a mindfulness practice that helps me accept difficulty and respond better to it when it arises.

I have no idea what 2012 will bring. Of course, I have plans: to work on a new book which at the moment has the tentative title 'Wise Women'; to achieve charitable status for Everyday Mindfulness and secure funding to enable me to make courses accessible to those who currently can't afford them; to bake delicious cakes; to learn how to create better images with my camera; to learn the names of at least 10 native British lichens; to see our Canadian grandchildren;to explore the gardens of East Sussex, to continue having Wonderful Wednesdays with my man, to carry on enjoying the shared care of our youngest grandson and to spend some time in the Hebrides.

But right now I am here, in this moment as the old year turns into the new, experiencing the warmth and security of our home, the wonderful love, laughter and companionship we have together, the chiming of midnight from the Steeple clock, the Kilbarchan Pipe Band performing in our street and ?.a whiff of Caribbean sunshine in a Pina Colada!

Cheers! And the very best of New Years to all my blipping companions!