We have seen another year come and go. We bid farewell to the year 2014 and bid greetings to the year 2015. I hope however you celebrated the arrival of the new year that you were safe and sound. As for me, as has been the case for several years, at home in front of the television watching celebrations around the world was my manner of marking the new year.
Reflection is often associated with New Year's Day, and so I would like to share some reflections of the year gone by.
The year for me was mostly marked by breaking my elbow in early July. It happened by dodging a falling old tree and running the wrong way to avoid it, tripping over a pile of cinder blocks. (Yes, I zigged when I should have zagged.) I have had bones knocked out of joint, which healed that way, but have not caused me any other major issues. This year marked the first time in my life that I broke a bone, a few actually, and only the second time to have surgery. (The first being having my tonsils removed when I was four years old.)
After several delays in getting it treated, including my not seeing any doctors for the first week because I thought it was a severe bruise, my operation was in early August. (I was told it lasted three hours.) Once the splint was removed -- what a joy that was! -- and the two dozen stitches were taken out, it was physical therapy time. While my elbow is far better than it was, my physical therapy continues into this year and there is the possibility of a second operation to gain full range of motion again.
It was a setback, but I somehow managed to keep a relatively positive outlook throughout.
The latter part of the year was difficult financially. I had to humble myself and ask, very uncomfortably, for help from friends. It was very embarrassing for me to ask for help, as I am usually the helper in one way or another, but I did so. What I discovered was that a number of my friends were ready, willing, and able to help. I ended up with more offers that what was really needed. One person who helped hadn't seen me in over a year, although we stay in touch via social media, and we usually don't see each other but once a year.
With more than a couple of tears shed by me, the blessings that are my friends came through loud and clear this year. I truly cannot thank them enough.
Along with my overall health, broken elbow aside, being pretty good (although I can still stand to drop
This past summer, I wrote about a young man, Anthony Howell, a member of the Army National Guard stationed out in the U.S. Midwest, who had gone missing. The son of a long-time friend of mine, I heard about his missing from her posts on social media. I decided to blog about him here and provided as much information as possible. Within ten days of my post about Anthony, he was found. His mother, Bridget, said that it was my posts on this blog that really sped up the process in the search for him. In fact, she wrote me yesterday, in response to a looking-back posting of mine on social media, saying, "You also officially can be credited with saving the life of one of our country's finest." She added, "Not too shabby!!!"
I am just glad that Anthony is okay and that I was able to help the son of a dear friend. I will have an update on him later this month.
Finally, I suppose this has been for my benefit, if not the benefit of any of my readers also, and perhaps I have veered into rambling more than remembrance. What I wanted to offer you is this: While there are those who were better off than I, and worse off than I, during this past year, the ups and downs of one's life are not intended to be measured against those of others. We all do that, anyway, but they are really to be measured against our own past years. My greatest year may be better than someone else's, or even worse than another's, but it will have included both good and bad, and would be "my greatest year" in comparison to myself, however I would define it.
What I am saying is this: If you rise above setbacks and adversities, if you can at least try to keep away a negative perspective, if you can and do help when the opportunities present themselves to you, then you have had, at the very least, a good year. Maybe not a great year, granted, but a good year nonetheless. That can never be taken away from you. No, this has not been my greatest year, but it was a good year in other ways.
After all, it could have been far worse.
Let me close our my first post of the new year with a video from the Scottish alternative band Dead Man Fall. The song is 'Bang Your Drum', and think the lyrics are meaningful, especially looking ahead to a brand new year. (The lyrics are below the video window.)
LYRICS:
I've been thinking about the things that are stuck inside in my head
and I can’t get them out.
And I've been waking, at four in the morning;
I don’t know why I can’t get back to sleep again tonight.
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
Keep Banging On
And your day will come
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
And they will hear you
I am wishing, that I was making
a list of all the good things that I've ever done with my life
And everybody thinks I have wasted,
wasted every chance I ever had to be somebody.
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
Keep Banging On
And your day will come
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
And they will hear you
No one lives forever
Business here I've got to finish
You won’t make your mind up
You won’t make your mind up for me
No one lives forever
There's business here you've got to finish
You won’t make your mind up
You won’t make your mind up for me
Hang out of your window
Shout it down to the people below.
Everyone will hear you.
They are going to hear you.
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
Keep Banging On
And your day will come
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
And they will hear you
OH OH OH OH.....
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
Keep Banging On
And your day will come
Keep Banging On
Banging on your drum
And they will hear you
©2014, Dead Man Fall
I hope you keep banging on your drum this year. Happy New Year to all of you!
Terry
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