New Year's Eve: Saying Goodbye to 2014

Another year draws to a close. There's a twinge in my chest as I look back at 2014 and leave the memories (good and bad) behind. 2014 saw so many highlights, just as it witnessed some truly low moments.

2015. A chance to start afresh according to the onslaught of posts going up on Facebook and Google+. I hope it brings you all the fresh start that you're seeking. The truth is that we can scrub out the pages and start again at any point in time. It's only that it feels somehow better to do it at the start of new year.

Today, I'm getting ready to leave all of the pain from last year behind. To make it easier on myself, I'm also going to do some things that might not entirely please some other people. I've done everything I can to try to make things better with some people but I've reached that stage now where I know that I physically cannot do anymore. You see, making the effort is all well and good...but you cannot be the only person to do it. If the other person will not even contemplate compromising or meeting you halfway then you've done all that you can.

The only thing left for me to do now is forget and continue on with life. The easiest way for me to do that is to stop all contact with the things that cause me pain. It might be hard at first but I suspect it's for the best. The end of 2014 is a time for saying goodbye to the old, after all.

The fact is that it wasn't 2014 that made the mistakes. It was me. I made mistakes and the worst thing is that I'm not able to fix them. So, the only thing left to do is turn the page and start scrawling down new adventures in 2015. I know that everything that happens in life is my choice so I'm going to make sure 2015 is a good year for myself and the people who matter most to me.

Goodbye, 2014. You did the best you could with the tools you were given.

Top 10 Quotes About Love

1. "So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day…"
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

2. "Pleasure of love lasts but a moment. Pain of love lasts a lifetime." 
― Bette Davis

3. "I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you."
― Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing

4. "Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence."
― Vincent van Gogh

5. "Don’t forget I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."
― Julia Roberts, Notting Hill

6. "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
― Lao Tzu

7. "You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."
― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

8.  "Love is needing someone. Love is putting up with someone's bad qualities because they somehow complete you."
― Sarah Dessen, This Lullaby

9. "This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something."
 ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love  

10. "What's meant to be will always find a way."
― Trisha Yearwood 




If you've enjoyed these quotes, you might also want to read: 'Top 10 Inspirational Quotes'.

A Life of Regret or the Risk of a Sting?

Lately, I've been trying to follow my own advice and actively seek out my dreams. Dreams cannot be made into a reality if we only daydream about them every day, after all. To get anywhere, sometimes we need to be brave and take a leap of faith.

The problem, of course, comes when you take that leap of faith and everything falls apart. At the risk of being humiliated, I think it's fair to say that I've taken a few bold steps and done my absolute best these last few months to achieve my dreams. The issue still remains though and I feel further away from this dream than ever before―and more humiliated, too. Putting all of your cards on the table is a risky little thing to do and there is a part of me already regretting it. A wise person told me yesterday that they would do anything to make their dreams become a reality. They were quite right and you should follow your dreams...but I guess you should know when to stop, too.

At least I can honestly say I've done everything in my power now. It seems cruel that one can work so hard at achieving something and gain no ground at all. If a compromise or glimmer of hope could be given, it would be enough. Except that's not the way the world works―and that's okay. I've still done my best and I can hold my head up high. I didn't give in or give up; I kept trying to make things work. Maybe, in the end, I've been stronger than I ever dreamed.

I know I can be happy, no matter what happens, but building confidence in hope again is a tricky little project when everything seems to be driving in the opposite way. Thankfully, I'm scrappy enough to keep charging on even when the going gets tough. I'm not going to be afraid of stings, not when the only other option is to look back later in life and wonder if I could have done more. See, pain is temporary...but regret gnaws away at you if you let it.

The Christmas magic is still in the air. Perhaps things didn't quite work out for me on this particular occasion but there's still hope for you guys. Make it happen and be proactive. Actively seek out the future you want and make it happen. If other people in the world are finding happiness then there's no reason why you shouldn't be either. Live in hope and actively achieve your dreams.

It's your dream. Only you can make it a reality. Let go of any fear and expect the best for yourself.

Top 10 Inspirational Quotes

These are just some of the quotes that have helped to pick me up in the past when I've been flagging. I hope they inspire you just as much.

1. "I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all of the time."
―Anna Freud

2.  "In any project the important factor is your belief. Without belief, there can be no successful outcome."

―William James


3. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
 ―Gandhi

4. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover."
―Mark Twain 


5. "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any."
 ―Alice Walker 


6. "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."
  ―Bill Cosby 

7. "So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings."
―J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit


8. "It is never too late to be what you might have been."
 ―George Eliot 


9. "Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly."
―Langston Hughes

10.  "The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God."
― Mother Teresa

Dreams - Kissing

Dreams which involve kissing another person are actually a lot more common that people would care to admit. I'll happily be hold my hand up and admit that I've had dreams about kissing people. To be perfectly honest, I've even dreamed about kissing an ex-boyfriend or two in the past. I'm pretty certain, in those instances, that the dreams weren't foretelling my future...so let's get on to what dreams involving kissing can actually mean.


Dreaming that you're kissing a friend:

To dream that you're being kissed by a friend signifies the deep respect and care which you feel towards that person. It may also signify a wish to deepen your bond and friendship.


Dreaming that you're kissing a celebrity:

This often denotes a strong desire to succeed in something you're doing right now. If you're working on a new project then it might mean that you're desperate to succeed there.


Dreaming of kissing a stranger

If your dream involves kissing someone you don't know then it might signal a desire for a fresh start in some aspect of your life, or a journey of self-discovery that you're undertaking. There might be some aspect of yourself that you're only just beginning to discover. Alternatively, it might mean that you're finally recognising some aspect of yourself that you'd previously repressed.


Dreaming that you're kissing an ex-boyfriend:

This can mean several different things so you'll have to decide which feels most right for you and the dream you were experiencing. I know some people hope that a reconciliation with an ex in a dream is a premonition for the future. I'm afraid I can't offer that guarantee, just as I can't disapprove it either. It's possible that your subconscious is picking up signs that are coming from your ex...but it's also equally possible that the dream is just trying to help you work through something.

Dreaming about kissing an ex-boyfriend suggests that the ex-boyfriend is on your mind. However, it could simply mean that your brain is looking back on the positive experiences that you had with your ex and is yearning for something similar with a new love. If you're single, it's possible that your brain is acknowledging the positive points of a past relationship so that you can work out what you want in future relationships. If there's been a significant shift or change in your life recently then the dream could also signal how far you've come since that relationship.

To dream of kissing your first love may be symbolic of fresh love or romance blooming in your life. If you're already in a relationship but dreaming about your ex then it could mean you need to add a little more passion and romance into your existing relationship.


Hints and tips: 

• If your dream involves kissing a stranger then is there anything about him that is at all familiar? Does he look or remind you of anyone? 
• Different parts of the body mean different things. For example, someone kissing you on the neck suggests passion, lust and giving into your desires. Alternatively, if you are kissing someone's foot then it may signify the respect you feel for that person. Similarly, dreaming of kissing someone on the cheek often denotes respect and friendship.

A Little Christmas Hope and Love

A festive season and an appropriately festive celebration to mark it. This year, the Christmas celebrations have gotten just a little bit more special though.

 

Today, two of my friends got engaged and are spending the Christmas period celebrating their love for each other. The pair have been together for five years and have stayed strong through everything. They are so perfect together and now they get to spend the rest of their lives celebrating that fact. I wish the happy couple a world of happiness and a lifetime of days filled with sunshine. I cannot think of a lovelier couple and I will be raising a glass of wine in their honour tonight.

The thing about Christmas is that it opens our hearts up to love again. The emotional walls erected come crashing down as the joy of Christmas seeps through and offers us renewed hope. Even the most battered and emotionally bruised heart starts to dare to dream and make wishes. Keep hoping and believe in achieving the best for yourself. Love really is infinite and endless―you just have to let yourself receive it. Be willing to receive and good will come to you.

Christmas is all about love and letting the people around you know how much you care for them. Take a couple of minutes today to tell someone important that you love them. Take the time to step out of your comfort zone and open your heart up to the people you want in your life. Seize every moment because―even if you don't end up where you'd like―then at least you won't have to look back with regret in later years. Take a chance on love and see where it leads.

To all the couples out there that are getting engaged or reuniting, I wish you so much luck and happiness. To all the people lonely or hurting over the Christmas period, I really hope you get your happy ending soon. Please don't despair because nothing is ever hopeless unless we believe it. Things change every day. The only thing constant in this world is the fact there isn't really much that is constant. Good will come to you eventually―and it'll be worth the wait.

<3 Happy Christmas! <3

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however."
Richard Bach

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
Martin Luther King, Jr

Top 10 Festive Quotes

 Here's my pick of some of the best Christmas quotes from various people, films and books. Merry Christmas!

1. “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol


2. “The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”
―Burton Hillis

3.“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 



4. “What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.” 
―Agnes M. Pahro


5. “Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.”
―Oren Arnold

 6. “Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?”
 ―Clarence, It's a Wonderful Life


7. “Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.”
―Laura Ingalls Wilder 

8. “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” ― The Conductor, The Polar Express

9.  “Let’s just say that on this day, a million years ago, a dude was born who most of us think was magic. But others don’t, and that’s cool. But we’re probably right. Amen.”
― Homer Simpson


10. “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”
— Bob Hope