NORMAL LIFE: New Year, New Start, Ditching Begins!

At times, we all feel someone is taking advantage of us, and I am no exception. One of my own personal traditions is to review the contacts in my mobile phone on the first day of each year and start removing those who I have not heard from, or who I have simply chosen to disassociate myself from. This morning, I deleted 32 numbers.

I estimate that half of those were business contacts, whose usefulness has run their path. The other half I would say consist of former friends and colleagues who have remained in contact, but whose contact I consider to be so sledom or devoid of purpose that it's hard to associate any value to knowing them. It was a very therapeutic exercise to delete those contacts for their very existence in my phone simply reminds me of those who have moved on so I asked myself why shouldn't I move on?

As I scrolled through those who remain, I smile as I remember memories associated with each person. I'm happy to call them my friends and look forward to the year ahead; I hope 2007 brings them warmth and good feelings, just like the picture accompanying this post (which I took on Boxing Day off the coast of Helsinki's Kaivopuisto region).