Christmas becomes the New Year – a time when resolutions are made. Like going to the gym you joined last year to be told that you’re not fit yet because, they say, you need regular exercise too. Funny that!

For many of us it’s the ideal season to stop and pause, and do something different. And, should you do find yourself spending time with people you truly don’t get on with, please leave as early as you need to: your mental health isn’t worth sacrificing for someone else’s temporary happiness.

But, whatever Christmas looks like for you, it really is a good time to reflect on the year gone by – before we start seeing in the new one.

It’s time to start living

For some, just making it to celebrate Christmas Day at all, is its own miracle!

Like my friend, Steve Legg, who was given just 5 months left to live in the Spring. With a bit of applied maths, you can see why he has such joy for life right now!

I had breakfast with him a couple of weeks ago and found myself pretty emotional when I’d dropped him back to his home. Because the doctors didn’t think he’d be alive in December. God had other plans!

For some people Christmas can be a time of intense loneliness as the people we love are too far away. Either physically – due to geography, or emotionally – due to family troubles.

As for me, I’m just reflective of the many new friends I’ve made during 2023.

Because, since launching Pure247Radio.org in September 2023, I’ve met and interviewed more than 40 amazing people. Including the likes of Debra Green OBE (Redeeming our Communities), Paul Blakey MBE (ROC Street Angels), Carl Beech (The Gathering), Our Atlantic Roots (UK folk duo) and Ignescent (US metal band).

I love sharing their stories with our listeners.

Stop. Look. Listen

When I was attending school we were taught to cross a road like this:

Stop – Look – Listen

Stop. It’s always easier to start something, than to rush to finish it.

Look. Check both ways, with both eyes!

Listen. Emergency vehicles can be heard before they’re seen.

By the way, hasn’t that last part become worryingly obsolete recently! Like how hard would it really be for car manufactures to ensure that electric cars make noise at low speeds? Just sayin…

Take a moment to hush and pause

I said earlier that it’s easier to start something, than to try and stop something once it’s begun – have you ever tried stopping a car because you forgot to apply the parking brake? Or a 44-tonne truck (asking for a friend…😲).

As 2023 comes to its inevitable conclusion we can’t Stop the year that has been or delete the bad memories. But, we can Look back and learn to Listen for the warning signs we ignored in 2023 and make the most of the journey.

Rough and smooth journeys are both, still, journeys!

Andy B