On New Year’s Eve in 2014, I celebrated with my Spanish friends in Macau, delighting in their tradition of eating a grape per second in sync with the midnight countdown. We entered into 2014 with the taste of sweet, mashed up grapes filling our mouths, accompanied by our heartfelt laughter and the hope that only good could come from such a joyous beginning.
2013 had been a hard year. I thought 2014 could only get better. It didn’t. I wouldn’t say it was a bad year as such. I wrote my manuscript and embarked on one of my greatest creative endeavours to date: I wrote my memoirs. I lived on an island with my loving, incredibly supportive partner and two puppies who would snap wide awake at 6 a.m. every morning and coax me out of bed with their long, slobbery tongues. As much as I groaned each time, their enthusiastic presence was a gift beyond measure.
On the other hand, 2014 was a struggle for survival. It was a challenging year that brought me to my limits in every respect. Hong Kong (the metropolis our little island belonged to) took its toll on me. I never could get used to the local culture and the abundant environmental pollution. My health deteriorated as bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia chased each other in rapid succession. 2014 was a year of extremes and, because of its intensive nature, spiked a learning curve like never before.
The closer we got to the end of 2014, I thought about what the next year might bring.
I hope I’ll be able to continue finding my purpose and be able to give something back to the world.
As Nietzsche once said “One must have chaos in oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star.” There are so many possibilities. There is so much chaos. And I can feel them rising, the stars of creativity, of compassion, of energy and transcendence. As it always is, my mind is full of plans, hopes, and ideas. I have finished my manuscript and am now beginning to send it to literary agents around the world. All the while my partner and I are going to try and make a new home for ourselves somewhere on the planet. Hopefully, I will find work soon. Whatever happens though, I am going to try and not expect too much from 2015. While working hard, I’ll relax as best I can and let the stars come forth as they may. I am so very curious as to where my journey will lead me next…