I am happy, warm, well-fed and online. And I hope you are too.
I am sitting in the study of an old stone farmhouse in Wales, looking out at blue skies and a snow-covered hillside. Yesterday I drove here (thank you Alun, who lent me his family’s aged BMW for the journey) from the flat in London where I had been staying for a few days of self-imposed retreat to reflect on 2009, and plan for 2010. Thanks to the kind woman who found my journal dumped near her house in Copenhagen and returned it to me, I was able to read back over my thoughts and dreams of the last 12 months, and look at what worked and what left room for improvement. Themes and patterns emerged. I was able to put things in perspective.
And now I’ve started to figure out how to build on the progress I made in 2009, and to synthesise my direction for next year. Lots of influences are playing into my plans – my experiences on the ocean and in Kiribati, the Climate Ride, publication of my book, the walk from Big Ben to Brussels, and of course the COP15 conference in Copenhagen. Books I’ve read and conversations I’ve had have also been highly formative. I am gleaning jewels of wisdom and pearls of insight from all kinds of sources. Assimilating, thinking, and listening to my heart.
It has been a blessing in disguise to be mostly offline. Undistracted by the thousands of emails awaiting attention, I was able to take quiet time out between Christmas and New Year to breathe and be. A very special time.
So the timing of the delivery of my lovely new MacBook Pro was just perfect. It arrived yesterday, just before I left for Wales. Now that I’ve got my head and heart sorted, it’s time for the hands to get busy again to start making it all happen.
This feels like a more than usually significant New Year. Tonight it is a full moon – a blue moon, in fact, the second full moon within one calendar month. And 2009 was a mega-year for me. 2010 promises to be even more so. I’m eager to see where it will take me – and in fact, the world. 12 months from now, how will the world have changed? Because, for sure, it will have.
Before we leave 2009, I would like to say a huge thank you to everybody for making 2009 so special. Those who supported me with their comments while I was on the Pacific. Those who contributed to the walk from Big Ben to Brussels – the supporters and the wonderful women of Team BB2B. Those who chipped in and helped me replace the cherished possessions stolen in Copenhagen. Those who bought my book and wrote to tell me how it had touched their lives. You have constantly impressed me, entertained me, informed me, and encouraged me.
Thank you so much. I love you all, and wish you health, wealth (in the spiritual sense) and happiness in 2010.
Happy New Year, Roz and Rozlings!
To a year of transformation.
Happy New Year indeed! Roz, thank you for all you have done this past year. You have affected many people’s lives, mine included, for the better. Peace.
Hello, Roz . . . and Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! 2010 is feeling GOOD already … 40 minutes into it, here in New York. (That “Happy New Year” in Hawaiian is a hold-over from my years living there. I love how it rolls off the tongue. Plus, I thought it would remind you of your wonderful arrival and send off from Honolulu as you finished the first leg of your solo Pacific row, and as you were escorted out by the long boats and the catamarans at the beginning of your second leg to Kiribati. That photo of you whizzing past Diamond Head is priceless!) 🙂
So glad you were blessed w/ a new MacBook Pro and also that you had that solitary time to ‘recharge’ and regenerate, in a sense. Look forward to what comes next! What I was most glad about, tho, was that you had your personal notes returned. Being a ‘personal note writer’ myself … I know what those are worth.
Sending you warmest wishes and a big hug . . . it looks COLD in the UK these days!!
xx Naomi
PS: Happy New Year to you, Unca Doug … and to our fellow Rozzle-Dazzles!
Welcome back, Roz. A guid New Year to you and yours and the best of hopes for your continuing adventures.
Roz,
Enjoyed meeting you in Laguna Beach this past year and look forward to following your adventures in 2010. Stay safe and healthy.
Ron the submarine guy
Happy New Year to you, Roz, and to all the Rozters and Roslings, too.
Oh, my, Roz. That farmhouse looks like something out of a romance movie. I’m sure it has its own ancient-house-quirks, but it does look like the perfect place to hole up and focus on writing.
Wishing you a marvelous 2010. May we all grow a little and learn a lot and see ourselves safely into 2011.
Happy New Year Roz from Whidbey Island, Washington. It sounds like 2010 is starting out a lot better than 2009 ended. I look forward to following your adventures and sharing your enthusiasm for making this earth a little better in the New Year ahead.
ALOHA ROZ! GREAT to hear from you! Glad you had some
quiet reflective moments and are now back ready for the next
New Year! 2010! Wishing you and yours a Happy year and moment.
Got the bookmarks from your Mum! We could imagine the days when you were rowing and enjoying your Larabars! I am inspired by
your words and energy… a note about the date on the Larabars,
think it was when your Mum was laminating them, both had
09/19/09 on them, one is #46, one is #85, that is the date
of our daughters wedding! even more special! I will have
mine in my ROWING THE ATLANTIC!
have a wonderful moment… day… year… MAHALO!
Carol in Oregon…
Aloha Roz!
Welcome to 2010. I am excited for you and your adventure to AUSTRALIA. Since meeting you, wow…you have been through a whole lifetime for some people.
I wish you LOVE and HAPPINESS in this great new year,
Lorrin
Joan – you’re absolutely right. This is an absolute haven! And my friend, Romy, who lives here, is wonderful. I read her your comment (we are sitting here installing her new iMac) and she said if you ever want to come and visit Wales you would be most welcome to stay. Any friend of mine is a friend of hers!
We went for a lovely walk this afternoon in the sunshine and the snow. Absolutely gorgeous. Jules, our official photographer, took some shots – I’ll share them just as soon as I have time to put a slideshow together.
Happy New Year! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3zJm98UXzQ
Lot’s of Love,
Nancy
Roz, a week ago you tweeted Birthday treat: went to see movie Avatar. Outstanding. SFX stunning, message right on. (9:18 AM Dec 23rd, 2009). I saw it last night on an IMAX big screen (packed, front row, total immersion) and agree with your critique: Outstanding. SFX stunning, message right on.
Romy – Thanks so much for your generous offer. You’ll be surprised when I try to take you up on it one day. I’d love to see Wales. We’ll return the favor if you’re ever visiting the southeast U.S.
Happy new year from Australia Roz. Just a thought about backup as insurance against any future “Data Loss” are you an Apple Mobile me ( .Mac) user I’m not sure that I’ve noticed you mentioning the service but I find it most useful especially the sync between my iPhone and the Mac as well as the online component. Cheers and best wishes from a very warm (and wet today) Newcastle, Australia. Jim Bell (Australia) PS you may have heard we had an amazing dust storm on the 23rd of September here’s my Mobile Me gallery HDR of what it was like!
http://gallery.me.com/jimbellofbelmont#100066/Dust-20storm&bgcolor=black When we woke up we thought there must have been a bushfire outside. NB this dust came from Lake Eyre 1500km away!
Hi Jim – yes, I do use MobileMe for syncing my Mac and iPhone. It’s brilliant – absolutely saved my bacon in Copenhagen. Am now also planning to use Carbonite to back up data files, although having some teething problems with it at the mo.
Thanks for the photos of the dust storm. Made me sneeze just looking at them! Some other lovely travel photos in there of Ganesh etc. Where are those from? Looks like you’ve been to some amazing places!
Ganesh was in Bali and now sits outside our front door 🙂 AU$210 in Bali for 3 statues (one cubic metre) AU$1500 by the time they were at our door but we think they were worth it the carving is magnificent. … BTW what part or our coast are you hoping to aim for? Jim Bell (Australia) http://www.flickr.com/photos/8792094@N07 these are Cambodia and Vietnam as well as older photos in Australia. Cheers
Just another thought … I’m also using DropBox .. cross platform as well as web based with collaboration and sharing options. It’s free free up to 2Gb. Great for transferring large files https://www.dropbox.com — Jim Bell (Australia)
Thanks Roz. Your story is the inspiration to do things. May the New Year bring you much happiness. Thanks.
All very best wishes to you,
Gary
They both can double as a good blanket But Maynard is the superior blanket IMO