2011

Like every year, I did less and more than I thought I would in 2011.

I vis­ited New Zealand for the first time, one of the most beau­ti­ful places I’ve ever seen in my life. I flew up in a heli­copter and landed next to a pris­tine moun­tain lake inac­ces­si­ble oth­er­wise. Its beauty took my breath away. One of the high­lights of the year, as well as my life. If there is a Heaven, it prob­a­bly looks like this.

I lost my first car, a clas­sic 1991 BMW E30. I loved lit­tle 20-year old Snoopy, and my dad was espe­cially attached to her. Her gear-box had died and it didn’t make eco­nom­i­cal sense to repair her. My heart still aches a bit when I see old pho­tos of her.

I got engaged dur­ing a lovely, happy week­end getaway.

I unearthed my pur­pose: “A life on pur­pose is one of ful­fill­ment through growth and appre­ci­a­tion. It is a life of artis­tic expres­sion and coura­geous explo­ration, inspired by love, wis­dom and honor.”

I learned how to cook, both healthy and not so healthy dishes.

I revis­ited my friend the monk in Thai­land and filmed an inter­view with him there. It was the ful­fill­ment of a cou­ple of dreams, and a risk taken on a new one. The final video inter­view isn’t per­fect, but I’m proud of it and I gained more from the trip than I could have imag­ined before­hand. Thank God for dear, frank friends who pushed me out of my com­fort zone and encour­aged me to do it.

I started med­i­tat­ing again, semi-regularly, and can already feel the ben­e­fits. Bet­ter focus, more empa­thy, a clearer mind and an improv­ing memory.

I attended the funeral of one of my class­mates. She was one of the bright­est spir­its I knew, and her loss made me very sad. It made me feel old – really old – for the first time. It broke my heart see­ing my best friends cry. A stark reminder of how lit­tle time each of us has together and to make the best of it.

I attended the wed­ding of one of my old­est and best friends. It made me very happy to see one of the most beau­ti­ful cou­ples I know finally get mar­ried. I pho­tographed the event and was glad I could help them cap­ture some of the pre­cious moments on their spe­cial day. It made me remem­ber why I love pho­tog­ra­phy so.

Most of all, I deeply enjoyed spend­ing time with loved ones, drink­ing deeply of the unique times I got to spend with each of them – moments which, once gone, would never come again. That’s what end­ings remind of us, I think, that if we get the chance to have a new begin­ning we should trea­sure it this time round with more even love and aware­ness than before.

I hope you had a happy 2011 full of love, and I wish you and I a 2012 filled with more lived-in moments.

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