As we approach the end of the year, I am feeling reflective over the journey I’ve had in 2018. I was going to write a post about it but as I started, I realised it’s pretty complex and probably not all that interesting anyway! The high level overview is simply that I underestimated the impact it would have on me and my life.
I don’t know what 2019 has in store for me but I certainly know that I want to continue to learn, to spend more time out in Flanders and on the Somme and hopefully to guide. To me, this is something which I have searched much of my life for. The feeling of doing something I love, with true purpose. When that is important to you in life, I’ve learnt that it can be difficult to balance with everything else, to find that fulfilment without appearing selfish.
Ultimately, I am compelled to work in some way to ensure that They are not forgotten and despite my anxieties, I know deep down that I can do that and do it well, but like everything, it will take hard work and the obstacles at times will seem over whelming.
I generally despise New Years, as people tend to make baseless resolutions reliant on little more than the ticking over of a 500 year old calendar of our own construct. Instead, I believe that if there is a promise you want to make or a change you want to effect – then do it any day, because it will only succeed if you truly want it and no symbolic passing of time is required for that. So as 2018 ticks into 2019, I’ll say – so what? Nothing will change for me, my aims and my passions remain, just as They do.
Lucy Betteridge-Dyson 