Of old and new waters

It is already a year that I was writing something similar from the City of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is amazing how fast time goes by, and it is also amazing to realize how many things it takes with it, and how many things it brings along. It is as if we were swimmers in a river of time. I like to think of time as a river in continuous flow (even if for some this sounds cheesy), and as a river, time is never the same, and neither are we the same swimmers. 

Very often do we think that we are skilled swimmers and that we master the currents only to be thrashed about and smashed by treacherous waters. It is then when the river can take some of the stuff we were holding on to. Some other times, along our way, we find other very pleasant swimmers who want to tag along our course. In short, swimming through time is quite a life changing adventure.

For me 2011 was quite a year. I had the chance of spending the first half studying in the Netherlands. Staying completely on my own in such a country where I knew nobody was a very enriching experience and made me realize quite a lot about myself. I am certainly not the same person who was writing something similar a year ago. I do believe however, that everyday is full of newness, of opportunities, of blessings to be discovered, and we should not wait until January 1 in order to commit with something, still, as a society, we have marked this day as a reminder of how far we have swum, and I do believe it is a great moment for us to stop for a while and look around and question ourselves.

During 2011, many remarkable changes occurred in my life. I had to face some of my worst fears by myself, and I had to say goodbye to a very important person, but also I met new people, some good, some bad, and some excellent, I learned many great things, I had second chances, and I experienced feelings that I have never felt before. 

Here I am, a few hours away from this thing which we call the end of 2011, and still alive. Many blessings I had before are still with me, and I happened to receive some great new blessings throughout the year. I don't know what I did to have them, I really can't answer why me, all I can do is thank God for giving me these opportunities, and promise that I will try to the best of my ability to make the best out of them. I am also a bit nervous, just like many of us, about what might be comming in this wild river, and while it is impossible to know, the one thing to do is to surrender, to hold God's hand tightly and trust that we are built to resist the worst of the rapids on this river.

It is for sure none of us swimmers are the same swimmers as the year before, that is why I want to thank each and every single one of you people for contributing in any dimension on making me who I  am today. I wish that every single one of you and every person on earth, has one great 2012, full of awareness, of health, and the best blessings from God. We are all responsible for that since we swim on the same waters. Let's try to make of 2012 the best year so far for every single person, let's be catalysts of a world with less sadness. One tear less in the world during 2012 will already mean an enormous progress.