She had asked him to desire her, and he desired her intensely, far more than she could imagine, but it wasn’t her breasts or her body, it was her company he desired. He wanted to put his arms around her and to sit in silence, staring into the fire, drinking wine, smoking the occasional cigarette; that would be enough. Life was made up of simple things; he was weary of all the years he had spent searching for something, though quite what he didn’t know.
This quote from Paulo Coelho’s book Eleven minutes, is the only quote I have ever written down in my digital diary. I could say it is my all-time favourite. What touches me most is the end of the search of this man for ‘something’. I recognize his search for the meaning of his life. It’s not always easy for me to feel satisfied with where I am right now. At certain moments it’s like I have no idea what I am doing and what for and it makes me feel like I am not learning fast enough. What helps me when I have this thought is take a break and look at what I’ve done the last couple of weeks. This usually calms me down.
In December I have a look at the whole year. For me it’s a time to reflect on what I have done and learned and to think about my wishes for the next year. It’s a good time to remind myself of what I wrote about in the issue of The Professionals of October, the biggest regrets of people who were dying. These regrets were about not living a life true to oneself, working too hard, not expressing feelings and not staying in touch with friends. In times when I am rushing through life, I sometimes lose sight of what is really important.
December is also a month in which I spend a lot of time with my friends and family. The big celebration is of course New Year’s Eve when we anxiously wait for the clock to strike twelve so we can wish our loved ones a great year. I also want to share my wishes for you. For the year 2016 I wish your:
- dreams will come true
- vision on things will become clearer
- self-awareness will grow
- giving will be with good intentions
- ethics will keep you sharp
- inspiration will reach others
- creativity will help you solve problems
- personal leadership will make you flourish
- habits which are bad will vanish
- love will surround the people around you
- wellness will stabilize
- celebration party will be amazing
I would like to end my last article for ‘The Professionals’ of the year 2015 with a thank you to Neeraj Tyagi for giving me the opportunity to write for this magazine. I am thankful that I have met you at the beginning of this year during the Vipassana course in Mumbai. Writing the articles helped me to focus on the important things in life.
I wish you all a great New Year!