A New Year

I never make New Year’s resolutions because if I want to do or change something in my life, I usually can’t wait for the year to end or to start. I want to do it right now! So, when I reflected on how good 2019 has been to me and how 2020 might turn out, I wished for life to just continue the way it was on December 31st.

Of course there are things I wouldn’t mind (not) having, e.g. less pain in my joints, no gray hair, more pocket money to spend on travelling, have all my loved ones come and visit me on the island, speak Indonesian without having to study so hard, find a jogging route all the way around Pef and finally manage to eat less chocolate, but I am also very happy without this. I’m enjoying the amenities of modern life in Switzerland at the moment – running shower with sweet water, fast internet, public transportation, cinemas and much more – but I’m already looking forward to island life again, to the sunshine and warm temperatures, to the wonderful team and their laughter and to contributing to making our guests’ stay on Pef the best they ever had. Never mind the salty water and sweaty temperatures!
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My friends sometimes ask me how long I am intending to stay on the island. Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll stay for as long as it feels right, and I hope it will feel right for quite some time to come. Life has a way of taking care of itself if you let it. There were many ups and downs in my life, but most of them happened for a reason. And I was always trying to be open to new adventures, to meeting new people and to make lemonade, when life gave me lemons.

The last 6 months working for Raja4Divers have been incredible. I have opened up and become more generous in accepting other cultures and lifestyles, less judging. Swiss people are very quick with their judgement on the «correct way of living» for everybody, and I guess I had that tendency as well. Of course, I still have my own beliefs and values, but I learned that other ways of living can be very fulfilling as well. And I am not only talking about the employees I work with, but also about our guests. We have various nationalities and very different individuals visiting us, which I find interesting and inspiring even if some of them are rather challenging. They tell us about their travelling – mostly diving – but also about their lives, work, families, etc. I might not end up writing a book about these stories as one would expect, but they will help me see things from a different perspective now and then.

I am convinced, 2020 will be a good year even though we will not be able to stop wars or solve the climate crisis yet. But I will continue to be open to what the new year has in store for me. I’m sure it’s filled with joy and happiness, great encounters and fond memories, but also with difficult times and sad moments. My resolution is to accept all this and make the best out of it, just as I did last year. It’s worked out pretty well for me – it got me a job in paradise. What else could I wish for?
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Happy New Year to all of you – may it be the best you ever had!