(Photo credit: Flickr)
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And though We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
‘Thinking about that poem a lot lately and I think what it says is that while it’s tempting to play it safe, the more we’re willing to risk, the more alive we are. At the end what we regret most are chances we never took.’
Dr Frasier Crane.
Trying to sum up this year has left me floundering for the perfect words to write, but then, Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson came to mind. I realised that the reason we’re sometimes miserable in life is neglecting the things that are dear to our hearts.
‘It’s easier said than done, a dear friend once quipped wryly, fate is a cruel lover.’ I disagreed with her. Most times, we leave our lives in the hands of fate when we can dictate how we want things to turn. Don’t get me wrong, there are many things we can’t control, yet in the same vein, there are things within OUR control.
The end of a year signals something final and irreversible. Likewise, it also foretold adventures not yet taken, dreams not yet realised and battles not yet fought nor won. It could however, prove an unsettling experience if we believe our lives aren’t what we want it to be by doing nothing to make it what it ought to be.
There’s a way out though, why not envision what you want and take ample steps towards it? By doing so, you would be able to satisfy your innermost desires knowing that you tried and succeeded or maybe not but at least, you took action.
The new year is almost here, and I want to use this opportunity to appreciate my friends all over the world, for their continued support and friendship. I hope 2016 would be a better year and that peace and love would be a visible part of our lives in the new year!
I hope we would touch our ‘Happy Isles’ in 2016, we just need to believe so.
Much love friends, and happy New Year!
🙂
Seyi Sandra David 
A lovely befitting post for the end of an eventful year. You challenged me personally Seyi. I believe that fate doesn’t always direct what happens in our lives, and like you’d written, we can make the changes we so desire. Doing nothing is always what fuels our frustration.
I hope 2016 would be a year of great achievements for you. It is a pleasure working with you, and also, calling you my friend.
Christy Nelson.
Thank you so much for your encouragement all through this year. I am immensely grateful for your support.
Thank you Christy! May the new year be a time of renewed dreams and blessings for you. God bless you richly my friend, and colleague! 🙂 🙂
It was a pleasure knowing you Seyi, and a pleasure to have you as a friend. I wish you joy, peace, and good health throughout 2016!
Cheers. 🙂
Encouraging and thoughtful words. Happy 2016 to you!!
Thank you Kim. Have a great year ahead.
Lots of love. 🙂
Great motivating words for this Monday! Thanks for sharing them and happy new year to you too!
Thanks for your visit and kind comment my friend. I wish you a new year filled with blessings and peace of mind.
🙂 🙂
Thanks! I wish the same for you as well.
Love that poem. Here’s to a new year of possibilities. May we live each day with joyful anticipation.
It is a great poem and I concur to your statement. May the new year be onto us, a year of realised dreams. I am grateful for your visit and comment ma’am.
Very well written… .-)
Happy New Year wishes for you and yours from here… 🙂
Thank you my friend! May the new year bring blessings and peace your way. Appreciate your visits, comments and friendship. 🙂
Beautiful post, Seyi. Happy New Year to you and your family!
Thank you so much Jill. I wish you a great year filled with uncountable blessings! Starting with a bestseller… 🙂 🙂
Hi Seyi What perfect inspiration for the new year !! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I hope you have a wonderful 2016 and I look forward to seeing what you you have planned !! I appreciate your comments and likes on my blog and will work hard to dazzle you this year, you are making me feel very inspired with this post !!! I know I do play it way too safe sometimes and need to get out of my safe, comfortable box and find wonderful dreams to pursue !!! I will work to do that more this wonderful new year !!
Thank you for reading Stephie, you’ve been a great friend and I am grateful and privileged to call you my friend. I hope 2016 would be one of the best years of your life yet. Get it out and get it done!
Much love to you Stephie! 🙂
it’s nice to see you again…,
Good year !!!
Glad to see you here! I wish you a fantastic new year! 🙂
Truly something to consider. Magnificent photo! Happy New Year!
Thank you so much Patti, I wish you the best of this new year!
Love and blessings to you! 🙂
Thank you!
Your post, Seyi, reminds me that thinking of and thanking the people in our lives is so much more important than our own wants and needs. It seems that if one looks outward one’s inner self grows. I wish you a productive and happy new year
Thank you so much Dannie and you’re right of course. The more we think of others the better we’ll feel. I hope this year would be one of the best of your life yet!
Happy new year my friend. 🙂 🙂
Happy New Year! All my best wishes for 2016!
Happy New Year my friend, wishing you lots of joy, peace and blessings in this year! 🙂
I look forward to good things happening for you my friend, your ambition and work ethic as well as your caring nature does you credit and I think your year will be a fantastic one. In order to get anywhere in life one has to try and plenty of people have told me I am very trying lol.
Thanks my friend, I wish you a year filled with realised expectations. You will have a great year, just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll soon be where you want to be. Enjoy the rest of your week Ste J. 🙂
I shall do it and try to do it in style my friend…I sent off my relevant details on New Year’s Day by the way, I thought it would be nice and symbolic, new starts and all that!
That’s good, I think someone from HR would contact you soon. Take care of yourself old friend!
Thank you, I am being patient and distracting myself so I am happy!
That’s what needed Ste J. I haven’t resumed work, Christy is still abroad, operations start fully on Monday. I should drop by your blog soon to check what you’re up to! 🙂
Thanks for the heads up, I know you guys are snowed under so I am happy waiting my turn, plenty to read, write and discover in the meantime. I have been sloppy updating of late but getting back on it for a better year than the last!
Yeah we are, but things are looking up!
I’m lazy updating my site as well, still so many loose ends to tie up. I should update tomorrow, fingers crossed.
As ever my friend, I will look forward to it!
This blog is a burst of fresh air. Deep, intellectual, sweet and just not shallow at all. I love it. I am very happy I found it. Thanks for sharing.
Pictures are beautiful.
Thank you so much, you’re so kind. I sincerely appreciate your visit and comment.
Cheers. 🙂
The perfect message for the new year my dear friend. I also do believe that we regret most the things we didn’t do rather than those we did. We do have choices and it is up to us to make them. Those curve balls can and do derail us, but it is precicesly then when we need to get back up, with God’s strength, and get back on track. Wonderful Tennyson quote. May 2016 bring you all your heart desires dear Seyi. Sending much love & blessings to you dear one 🙂 ❤ 🙂
Thank you so much Sherri. Apologies for my late reply, I wouldn’t say 2016 hasn’t be great so far, it’s been hectic and I’m really trying to reduce my stress levels – on doc’s orders.
However, right now, I’m as right as rain and ready to dive into the race.:)
You’re spot on about choices, and I pray God would give us wisdom this year to do what we can, and leave what we cannot.
I’ll be over at yours tomorrow God’s willing, and would also update my site.
My warm regards to your hubby and the rest of your wonderful clan!
Much love my friend. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Dear Seyi, I just read your recent post, but wanted to reply here first as I must have missed your comment in reply to mine, so sorry. As you know, it’s been a tricky time. I sincerely hope that things have improved for you stress-wise since you wrote this my dear friend. My prayers are with you, please know this. This year seems to be giving us both a difficult and sombre start. But, God willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we’ll get back into the race and how! Sending much love & hugs and now over to your next post… 🙂 🙂 🙂
Believing in ourselves, then belief in our dreams and then knowing we are worthy are three parts of what you were describing. Ways to meet our ideal place in the world, even if it is just around the corner or a chair in our simple apt. Great and motivating post, Seyi.
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment my friend. Apologies for my late response. Sometimes I believe we keep searching for our ideal place in the world while we’re already there.
Thanks once again for your visit.
Much love to you. 🙂
I will never mind a late response because I am only able to get so much done in my own blogging, Seyi. I let two people our of the waiting approval area of wordpress and added them on the raspberries post. Just felt so bad!
I hope we may meet on this Happy Isles, someday. . . Happy 11 months to go of 2016. We have only just begun. I am going to try and stay better connected! 🙂
Thanks for your response Robin, it’s alright, you can’t include everyone. I hope so too, the ‘Happy Isles’ is our place of rest, may we find rest throughout the remain part of this year!
🙂 🙂