2008 – Anyone Got A Match?

IT’S A YEAR I’d rather forget, and if I could throw some petrol on it and light a match I would, yet looking forward into 2009 is like standing on the edge of an deep abyss.

It started out so differently and I can remember this time last year being full of hope for the future, where as now I realise I was just operating on bad instincts and false promises at the time. I had thought 2008 was going to bring a measure of personal and professional success, but instead it delivered betrayal, bad judgement and seemingly endless trials.

I write this article not to divulge the details or to bitch and moan for no good reason, rather I commit these words to posterity so that I will not forget, so that I will mark this occasion and remember well the hard lessons learned this year as we all face into an uncertain future in 2009.

The global economy has faltered and crashed, the banks are in disarray requiring bail out packages from governments. The outlook in pretty bleak with over 50% of surveyed companies indicating that they are shedding staff in order to cope with rising costs and falling revenues. Everywhere you look it’s getting tougher, and I suspect it will be like this for a couple of years at least before any semblance of balance is restored. I’m lucky enough to still at least have a job, but I have no illusions about that either. Everything is pretty fragile heading into 2009.

And so, when I consider what could have been, and how differently the past year might have been if things had worked out as originally planned and promised, well I think I would just prefer to douse the entire thing in petrol and throw a burning match over my shoulder upon it as I turn my back on the year once and for all.

Although the burning pyre that was 2008 was a disaster for me I know it was a great year for others and to those lucky individuals I wish them continued success and good fortune. In the great balancing scales of our existence some must go up while others fall further; it is inevitable and rightly so. Good needs bad, success is defined in contrast only to failure. Let this brief post serve as a reminder so that - if I am lucky enough to still be here in one year and find myself looking back at 2009 – I can compare and contrast this low ebb, this point in time. Who knows, maybe the scales will have balanced back in my favour this time next year, or perhaps I’m only at the start of the slide downwards.

Enough said. Christmas is upon us. Whichever shared delusion religion you subscribe to I wish you a safe and happy break from the usual rat race. Enjoy the time with family and friends if possible.

Me? I’m going to warm my hands on the burning pyre that was 2008

Technorati Tags: 2008, Year in Review