Fradam

First of all: Happy New Year everyone!

Strange sometimes to realise how quickly another 12 months pass by, and how fast the next 12 will as well. 2008 saw its fair share of newness in my life - new home, new friends, new job… just about anything that could change, did, and it all transpired in a short span of time. I wonder if all this rapid fire alteration of life could be responsible for the motion sickness that I’ve been feeling as of late. I’m told that I am meant to be looking at the roads and the outside world when in a moving vehicle, so that my brain isn’t fooled by what it feels (motion) versus what it sees (something constant, if I’m not looking outside). To transpose; motion sickness in life could result from holding onto what is constant whilst everything changes; rather than opening my eyes to watch the motion in my environment at the same time. Simply Red said it best perhaps - “I’ll keep holding on“. Hmm..

Change has been my age old enemy; a foe that I battled valiantly for many years and resisted the overtures for much time. Yet in 08, its clammy hand closed in and changed much with little thought or consideration for the consequences.. strangely enough; the majority has been to my delight.. a great delight. Much in fact, has been at my own instigation and my own provocation. So if the hand that wrought the change was my own, it makes me wonder why I should feel any sort of motion sickness - surely I should be enthralled by the thought that choices I made have bettered life, irrespective of the costs?

Tab posted a note yesterday about God having a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and these past few weeks have been a testament to it. Maybe I just need to accept that it is all part of the plan… which is certainly a comforting thought. In fact, that thought reminds me that most of this change, I’ve actually enjoyed! So perhaps it is not the change itself…

Being as I’m moving at the moment, I think about the difficulty of moving a fridge - the fact that fridges don’t like being moved, but that when they do move, they need some time to sit upright at room temperature (i.e. not turned on) before they are used, to allow the oil to settle. I feel that is a little like me: I don’t like change, but when I do have to change, I need just a bit of time to sit upright at room temperature before I’m doing things again… definitely a clear cut case of fridge-id living!

… when you’re mad.

So, 2007 is about to end, and I’ve not touched this in sometime. Many a thing has happened, life in some ways almost seems operatic with suds on the side. Betrayals, infidelity, death, adultery, work shuffles, concerts galore, globetrotting family members… and I beat Steven in squash! (yes, it was a noteworthy enough achievement to mention). Needless to say, life was busy.
I don’t intend on doing one of those ‘year in review’ style thoughts, as am a little quiet at the moment, and am just hoping that the new year brings about a nice change… come on 08!

Well, first of all, Happy New Year everyone, hope you had a safe fun time A small BBQ gathering was held at Casa de Frads, with a few games of Articulate until the fireworks rolled around, none of which my team won.. but there is always next time! The Sydney fireworks, as always was a good show, with some 5-6 different set of fireworks visible from our balcony. All in all, it was a good evening, which it seemed everyone enjoyed, and provided some opportunity for contemplation concerning the year to come.

The ushering in of a new year is often fraught with desires for change, changing, changes, etc. I like it just for that breath of fresh air, that coolness in the wind. It is akin to those drops of water just after rain, which funnily enough was exactly how New Years Day was looking in 2007: a day just after rain.

I’m not entirely sure what this year will hold as so much looks like it will change at the drop of a hat… like that drop of water, just ready to fall. Perhaps it is more like Dr Ian Malcolm’s speech on Chaos Theory (Jurassic Park, 1993), where he describes how a single drop of water can go in different directions:

It changed. Why? … Because and here is the principle of tiny variations - the orientations of the hairs on your hand, the amount of blood distending in your vessels, imperfections in the skin — microscopic — never repeat, and vastly affect the outcome.

It appears life itself mirrors the drop: so many tiny variations can occur in the next day, the next week, the next month, leading to very much different lives. Only time can tell which way the drop goes, but I remain ever hopeful that it will be for the best — happiness often only comes when you want it to come, after all.

Photo courtesy of Kellie - thanks