Chalking up de dutty tough

So, we made it through to 2009! As we herald in the New Year, many are breathing a sigh of relief as the curtains go down on 2008 – and what a performance it was! In truth, it was a roller coaster ride which tested us all to the core.

As we look back, was it ever as bad as the economic pundits said it would become? Granted, it was tough but the world hasn’t come to an end. If anything, 2008 was a year where we had to dig deep and (re)discover aspects of our character that rarely see the light of day because life is so, well – great!

I remember the rash of 2000&gr8 (great) messages that flooded my inbox twelve months ago. Six months down the road, I recall the 2000&gr8 energy had evaporated. I asked the question then as I am now, what will make this year greater than any other?

The doomsayers were having a field day; telling us to tighten your belts and calling us to revert to almost frugal living. They sent hoards of people spiralling into quicksand.

Collective meditation
Almost paralysed with fear, the world began a collective meditation through anxious sleepless nights of what ifs. Baffled as to how we got to this space, as the established world order crumbled, it was all the more scary because we were ill prepared and worse still, ill equipped.

If you think about it, we’ve been here before, in our lifetimes and in our fore parents’ lifetimes. Furthermore, we survived! We came through to triumph because we were forced to learn new skills and re-discover our true ourselves.

Out of 2000&gr8 came the US President Elect Barack Obama. He speaks of the audacity of hope. How audacious are you when it comes to assessing how great 2008 really was.

Would you dare to see, even if for a minute, how resilient and resourceful you have been forced to become? In those 60 seconds, could you glimpse incredulous moments, the endless possibilities of a new dawn that you could create?

As we hurtle into 2009, ushering in a new cast of actors brightly dressed in unfamiliar costumes, are you seated in the front row, gasping for air from scene to scene, or are you writing the script?

Whether we like it or not, we’re all writing our own scripts no matter the economic backdrop or the curtain call.

Looking across the oceans from Africa to the Caribbean, I see and hear a call to retrieve our creativity. In seeking to author our destiny let’s reclaim our deep seated passions and take guidance from our soul.

It starts with acceptance of what is. For it is through the stillness of acceptance that we are able to release pent up angst which blurs our vision and literally incapacitates us. Take it head-on! Chalk up the dutty tough experiences and capture the opportunities that turbulent times always offer.

I’m hearing it already, now 2009 is 2000&shine or 2000&mine. Whichever you choose let your life script nurture seeds of rampant possibility. It is ours for the making.