It is a Sunday afternoon, with the sun happily giving the brasileros a doze of what they define as a good weekend, I am here, inside the comforts of my "own" room -- towering a little above the praia, enough to give me a little bit of inspiration to write something about random thoughts circling.Two thousand and Nine. The universe is that old. And I could only imagine how he could have written a million blogs in his lifetime. Last year was well.. I am running out of words to describe.For me, it was a year of struggle, of crossroads, a roller-coaster ride wanting anybody to make it stop and get-off in the middle. It was a year of total surrender, of letting go, and of a leap of faith.I started 2008 in the middle of east, just going on with the flow, surviving and getting lessons along the way. And then it brought me to the land far far away from home, struggled a little more, encountered big tests of faith and principles, stumbled and got up along the way, with too much learning to take note off. And then I went home, overwhelmed with my comfort zone, got myself a little time to take things slow, hibernate a little, drown in my own thoughts. I gained and lost a few pounds, lost and gained people in my life, fought and lost battles, let go, surrendered and saw things fall into places little by little.My dear friends had their own battles to take too, and I witnessed and saw in their eyes how we all fought all through these, how we manage to still share cups of coffee and endless stories until daybreak, how we never stopped loving each other. One of my bestfriends got married, and for us, it was the best gift 2008 had to offer. Her wedding was more than a one-day event. It healed us all, in its own ways.2008 has given me a lot of assignments, exams, recitations and essays. Though there were days that I flunked them, I think I managed to get a passing mark at the finals. I think I aced on the essay part.And with the new year just had his jump start, I was brought back here, a thousand miles away from home again, with a lot of new things to learn. With all of my dear ones back at home, all anticipating what this year has to offer, crossing fingers, I know we will all be fine. And so I realize that we all just have to play our part. To live, to love, to learn -- with faith, with trust and with a solid belief that even if things will not be easy, they will fall into place. Play our part, and heavens will take it from there.Cheers to 2008, you deserve a gold medal from me. Two thousand and nine, here we come.
::Re-posted. original posting @ 01/11/09 Vitoria Espirito Santo Brasil
