2020 and 2021 have been really hard. It doesn’t matter where you live on this planet, we have all been affected by varying degrees of loss and worry. And even though Brisbane or Australia haven’t been as badly affected by COVID as other places, so many of us have friends and family that have been. So how do we move forward from that stressed mindset to a happier place in 2022? It’s hard but we have to try.
As a bookkeeper, sometimes I disappear down rabbit holes of data and get really bogged down in the tough times being experienced by so many business. To remind myself to lighten up, I have a photograph on my desk reminding me to sometimes be silly and to have fun. A long time ago, in a place far, far away, I spent 5 years living in the UK with a wonderful bunch or Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans. We lived together, partied together and, very often, travelled together. The photo is from one of those wonderful, carefree, silly trips. We all still have such a strong bond with wistful memories from those times that a couple of years ago, we got together and had a 30 year reunion in Queenstown. It was a weekend of laughing until your sides hurt and feeling like the world had stood still just for a moment. The perfect weekend. And that’s when this photo resurfaced. It had been hiding in someone’s cupboard for 30 years. I am forever grateful for the find.
30 years ago, it had been a long winter so my friends and I had hired a car and were driving through the UK past vast fields of mustard seed. Yellow for as far as the eye could see. We pulled over to take scenic photos, and my naughtiest friend took off at speed into the field and disappeared. We looked and looked but couldn’t see him anywhere. Those fingers of panic had started in the base of our stomachs when all of a sudden he popped up over the yellow and shouted “Mustard” then disappeared again. He continued to run along the rows of yellow in a low crouch, then, when we least suspected it, pop up somewhere and shout. It became like an IRL version of “Where’s Wally”. It was so ridiclous but we couldn’t stop laughing. Eventually, we all joined in until our boots were covered in mud and our noses were stuffed with those tiny yellow flowers. Just looking at the photo takes me back to that afternoon and the unadulterated silliness of it all.
In 2021, I have been staring at that photo a lot. As these tough years come to a close, I reckon we could all do with a slice of that silliness right about now. Hope you can all find your slice.
