Image by Tham Nguyen (Pixabay)
Happy New Year!
Well, I don't know where 2023 went but it has been a very long time between drinks. Or blog posts. Ten months in fact. Where has the time gone? 2023 turned out to be a very busy year. There were no family tragedies or other catastrophes but I was writing an honours thesis. This turned out to be a very intense process indeed, with many hours spent researching, reading and writing. It was absolutely fascinating work, but also mentally draining. And at the end I have a 15,000 word thesis about the role of women in the Australian Disability Movement to show for being missing in action for most of 2023. To everyone who has hung in during the great silence - thank you. Hopefully 2024 will be a much better year for blogging!
Naturally reading, and much of anything else, also took a bit of a hit in 2023. I fell short of my Goodreads goal. I failed to read much at all for the Gaia challenge. But I did read lots and lots of disability history. It is a relatively new field of history, and like many other minority groups, sadly overlooked and neglected for far too long. I also listened to many hours of recorded interviews. The National Library of Australia has a great collection of recorded interviews which is really worth checking out, if you have the time.
2023 was a year of many ups and down. While my history research was very stimulating, events within Australia and across the world were not. The war in Ukraine continues. And now there is the absolute misery and tragedy of Gaza. Is it really so difficult to live peacefully with each other? At home there was a brief glimpse of optimism that Australia could move forward in our relations with our First Nations People, only to be cruelly dashed by an utterly depressing and devastating outcome. How do you look people in the eye? Is reconciliation truly dead? How can we move forward as a nation?
And once again Australia is being devastated by fire and flood. I cannot imagine how it must feel to lose everything. Living on top of a mountain we get the rain and the wind, but not the devastation. Except that once again the tomatoes have failed due to too much rain. Climate change is having a definite impact on the way that we need to garden and grow our food.
What will 2024 bring? Will people be able to move out of tents into a real home? Will the cost of living crisis start to ease? Will we see world peace?
I am hoping for small things. For time to do the things that got pushed to the side, like reading for enjoyment, reading and writing blog posts, maybe even actually going to real places and seeing real people in the flesh. For time to get out in the garden, spend more time in nature and breathe in some fresh air. To take time to reflect on all the things to be grateful for and do the little things that can make a difference in our world.
Here's to a calmer, friendlier and more peaceful new year.
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