Ripples

Dear Diary,

Fear less, hope more;

Eat less, chew more;

Whine less, breathe more;

Talk less, say more;

Love more, and all good things will be yours

Swedish Proverb

It’s over, come closer and you might hear me whispering thank God for small mercies.  Tomorrow life will be back to normal. For the first time ever I have taken down the few  decorations I have about the place, even the new fairy lights which I found too bright  - before the Twelfth Night.  I fear there is no hope for me. I know I am Mrs Scrooge but part of Christmas was taken up with worry about others’ health, including one of the dogs and I seemed to have suffered much tiredness from too many broken nights.

I have been thinking about those New Year resolutions though, I think most people do secretly but not everyone will admit it.  I plan to economise, correction, I HAVE to economise.  I am dreading our leccy bill  because of te extreme weather we have been having and everything  has already gone up or is going up in price very soon.  Petrol, electricity, VAT, council tax, rail fares etc.  And all these rises will make everything  else cost more.  It’s not just the weather - my salary is frozen and my job is under threat so I must restrict my expenditure to what is absolutely necessary.

Our elderly dog has just gone on to heart medication and has three week’s worth of pills to take before we take him back for a review. I would pay whatever it takes to extend his life as long we can keep him well and pain free and to be honest (as they love to say in these parts) the effect of these tablets has been instant and amazing.  We had to pay £80 for the pills and the consultation so we wonder what we will pay in three weeks time.

I am going to cut back on everything, not just economically but rather on things that are a complete waste of my time but I am hoping to walk more, do more yoga, get more sleep, read more books and get more writing done.  Blog a little more often and  find more time to read others.  But in most things in life less is definitely more and I aim to pursue simplicity as much as possible.

I did have a lovely walk this morning, just me and the younger dog Kitty, the border collie.  We followed the river downstream and walked along the way of a  Roman Road which passes through our field.  I didn’t see a soul and there were no sheep in the fields which is most unusual.  There are more sheep than people in these parts.

Most of all in 2011 I am going to try to remember to think positive thoughts, turn every negative over (I think the phrase is flip it), count my (many) blessings and concentrate only on what is really important to me.  I shall resolve to live in the moment and enjoy it.  There is so much gloom and doom around but if we all tried harder to be optimistic then I am sure the ripple effect would be felt around the world.  I wonder if the Eclipse will help it along?

Bye for now,
Go mbeannai Dia duit,
I wish you All a Very Happy New Year,
Cait