So Long 2021

Good-Bye 2021

While navigating through 2021, I gave an old college try to keeping an upbeat outlook.  It took work, with an extra effort at times yet that work was well worth it.  Confirmation of that came a little while ago when the time arrived to ponder what I wanted to share in a Good-Bye 2021 post. I browsed through my photos and as I swiped my way through the days, weeks and months it became so clear that I experienced an abundance of extraordinary moments in time!  When I reflect back on this year and what it looked like for many in the world, compared to how my life played out, I attest to the fact that I need to be thankful for the blessings that came my way.  My initial thought was to pick one photo for each month but that became an impossible task so I went with eleven for each quarter.  That alone says something.  The quarterly photo collages will tell a better story than finding words worthy enough.   

  

In 2021 new doors opened right before my eyes!  There was no hesitation on my part to excitedly walk through to see what faced me on the other side.  I welcomed what I found with wide open arms.  With an abundance of importance placed on maintaining physical and mental well being, my new found endeavours fit the bill to a T.

🏅In January I jumped on board to participate in the conqueror virtual challenges.  To the seven challenges I completed, I attribute 1942 kms of the 2119 kms that I covered: via mountain hiking & urban hiking, in total this year.    

🐦My interest in bird songs and sightings took off in a frenzy in 2021!  Lots of mornings throughout the year, the excitement of the possibility of hearing or seeing something new was what got me up with the birds and out the door.  I saw, captured photos and identified 99 different species.  

🖌Becoming lost in the art of coloured pencil sketching was a favourite past time this year. These past few days I have been trying my hand again at watercolour painting but this time with brush pens.  I am excited with the progress made so far and look forward to experimenting with using coloured pencils and brush pens in the same project.  

Numbers are a core of my being, always have been always will be!  I tracked the ground I covered both vertically and horizontally each time I went out for a mountain or urban hike.  I also recorded the distance covered while skating and cross country skiing but those numbers are not included in the chart.  At the beginning of the year, I had no set goals.  As time went on new goals came with each virtual challenge I joined. The numbers then played a big part of the game. Yet still, I made sure that every time I was "out & about", I took tonnes of time to "remember to breathe".  With my feet firmly planted on terra cotta,  the ground I covered in 2021 is shown below.     

still Making Waves on top of the world

Over the past months I contemplated whether to change the name of my blog.  After consideration, I decided to stay with "still Making Waves on top of the world" along with the photo from Sentinel Pass overlooking Paradise Valley.  Here are my thoughts on why I contemplated a change! My interest in doing nothing but mountain hiking and reaching summits had always been at the forefront for the past many years.  When our world changed in March of 2020, the freedom to accomplish those was taken away.  In the hours on end of downtime, I looked elsewhere to find fulfilment and joy until our world got back on track.  As our freedoms were slowly restored, I did not retreat to those old ways.  New doors opened and I found an abundance of other ways to feel fulfilled.  It was time to embrace a whole new outlook.  I remember back to when I gave the original blog the title "making waves on top of the world" it represented an inner feeling rather than being at a physical location.  That feeling of feeling like I am "on top of the world" now comes from so much more than I ever thought it would. 

In addition to investing time in my newly discovered artistic interests, along with conquering and birding, I also look forward to where new paths may lead while being "out & about" in 2022.  I do have a numbers goal that I am in the process of designing a plan of attack for. I will share a little more on that in the days to come. Yet, the main goal I have is to do what it takes so I can feel that feeling like I am "still Making Waves on top of the world"!

Happy New Year

Wishing you everything that makes your heart sing loud with peace, joy and happiness!