Firstly I would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers a Happy New Year and one which is blessed with good health, peace and all that you wish for yourselves.

Since January 1 I have seen in many places people sharing their word for the year, I must admit, it may be just me but this seems like a new trend for the year ahead however also for me it seemed like an impossible task to choose just one word that would epitomise it.

However, as I was drifting up to sleep one night thinking about this very subject a word came into my head that I have now decided to take on as my word of the 2025. That word is ‘Embrace’.

On waking the next morning, the word again came to me so as I am a great believer in gut messages I am defiantly sure this is the one.

So, what does ‘Embrace’ mean for me, well this is what I am going to do to ensure that the word sticks to its message. I intend to ‘embrace’:

Good health, for me and my family, as my dad says if you have your health, you have everything, I too believe this, so it is indeed something that when it is yours needs to be embraced daily. Hand in hand with this is the ‘embracement’ of self-care, looking after our mental and physical health by regularly practising this simple thing can indeed help us in all areas of our life so for me it is high on the list.

Friendships, we are blessed to have friends far and wide so in 2025 I will be making sure we pay them plenty of visits both locally and across the UK to spend time with them making those all-important memories.

Opportunities, in 2025 I am certainly going to ‘embrace’ all of these that come my way both personally and professionally. I intend to grab them all and this year I shall make a note of them so that at the end of the year I can look back to ‘embrace’ the joy they gave me all over again. This one will be an exciting one and one that I am looking forward to with great expectations and anticipation.

The list could go on as I believe life gives us so much to embrace and look forward to everyday. There are so many times that we just take things for granted, believing we will get another day, another chance but life can throw at us challenges that indeed we often need to work hard to overcome but with faith, belief and help from others we can indeed climb over those challenges to embrace the lessons they are looking to show us.

I have spoken to many whose 2024 proved to be a challenging one and I count myself among them however a new year brings with it new days and a new hope that in its lap it does carry good times which will lessen the challenges of the previous year.

In 2009 when I went through my burnout, I vowed at the end of it never to have another year like it again such were the dark days I went through; 2010 proved to be the light I needed to show me that indeed no two years are the same.

So, what is your word for the year? Have you chosen one, if not give it some thought along with how in 2025 you are going to make the best things happen for you and those closest to you.