Tindeed, it is deceptive: there are whole years when nothing seems to be happening, and then a day comes when it feels as if everything is happening at the same time. I’ve heard conversations about it over the last several weeks goals and objectives – people want to make a change, they measure their progress against targets achieved over the months. This past year, I had every intention of doing something substantial to increase 2024. But the vague vanity of this human desire was laid bare by all the festivals of “counting” every year. Nothing much happened.
I have since concluded that the year 2024 was a “filler year”. To me, this type of year is best understood by what it is not: a “big year”. In this, a you can catch bucket-list milestone. A serendipitous group meeting with a future partner could change the course of your life. Start your dream job or take on a new role as a parent or sponsor. Conversely, a great year could be shaped by a serious loss or reckless cruelty that redefines who you are. Instead, the filler year feels empty, insubstantial, unmemorable.
Why was the year 2014 more difficult? I will love to tell you. It was not for lack of effort that he made the twelve-month mark. I worked, rested and abounded in my goals, but the harder I tried to achieve them, the more they seemed to elude me. I was caught in the grip of the Chinese developmental fingers. I have not achieved anything significant in my personal, professional or financial life. Time had other ideas about how to spend it, and this, combined with the financial crisis, in which I work harder, with less reward, decided that I would not advance, not pass, and not collect 200 pounds.
I could give you a few reasons why this happened – the industries I work in health, friends have been busy with big life changes – but I think these are less significant than the psycho-spiritual state of the subject that seems to be a flat year. to indicate The sensation of treading water felt like a necessary adjustment, and I had come to realize that I didn’t always need to be on the move. The more I leaned into the stasis of 2024, the more envious I became. If anything was to happen, it would be on the clock of some external force. I began to experiment with the idea that there is no need to force something to happen, that it becomes a revelation in its own way.
It is clear that: a filler year should not be a waste of precious time. I have found that such a year can also bring unexpected benefits. Rather than being interrupted or encouraged by funny reminders, I learned and gradually grew stronger, the horrible results that lead to personal growth. Each small indentation in my consciousness felt pleasant and subtle. I only got sick once or twice. I was almost never tired, probably because I wasn’t burning all my energy. I read some books, watched some TV, and I journaled a lot. I had a space of time – personal time – in a way I had never been allowed before. What seemed at first to be worthless is actually spending quality time with family and friends. I stayed one long weekend with my aunt and uncle and their children. We spend informal evenings drinking wine, chatting, flipping through interior design books for inspiration on how to decorate my flat. Why don’t we do that, they all said. The answer is obvious, because we are usually too busy.
Finally, over the casual life of the admin – a large grocery store Sainsbury’s, built from flatpack furniture, exercise routines. As a result, I am now semi-organized and feel stronger mentally that I can tackle more than the year before. In these short, boring days I am grateful for a warm bed, I cook myself a meal, a great book and a conversation with a friend without writing about it in a journal. My only regret is that I don’t spend more time offline. That space in real life turned out to be empty with no content to fill, and I spent far too many hours scrolling through apps.
When I described my son’s birthday to my sister the other day, it didn’t arrive. It’s not enough like the internet, like me (although it’s very much like having ““Filled” a year, returning from a journey). “I don’t always get stuff,” he said. “What do you say, what” it is life. “And I believe you are right. Didn’t our grandmother feel the pressure of “equality” every year, to grow warmer, richer, healthier and happier while on her way to the death line? taking or buying a new beret.
Perhaps the phrase is flawed; perhaps what appears to be “filler” is actually the substance of life’s meaning. These periods are about learning about the experience of simplicity – a quiet year spent with the people and activities we care about, rather than narrowly focusing on the accomplishments or developments that make us worthy of the love of the world. In retrospect, 2024 definitely taught me to be less eventful. This year I will stop at a busy time to recover, which will inevitably come at some point. When a friend now asks me for a life update, I would be happy to report nothing but “Where do I begin?”