Looking back – and forward

I always pay attention to what Chinese Lunar Calendar says in general: year of Rooster – check. Fire, gold and red – check. As to the details, they are sometimes contradicting each other, so they have to be approached critically. Like, in some sources I have read that the year of Rooster is always the worst of all the years of the Cycle, with which I totally disagree.

(I thought about roosters and cycles when walking the streets of Waterford during Winterval festival)

Lets go back and see what the years of Rooster were like. I will start from 1957, for a particular reason 😉

1957

The Treaty of Rome was signed by six countries establishing European Economic Community – the future EU.  Yay for that. Soviet Union sent a dog Laika into Space. Federal Troops were sent to Arkansas to enforce anti-segregation laws. Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.34%; UK 3.3%

1969

Richard Nixon was inaugurated. Apollo 11 astronauts took first walk on the Moon. The US had the greatest number of troops in Vietnam. To compare with turbulent 1968,  1969 seems to be quieter, but the same problems remained.

1981

Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. First flight of Space Shuttle Columbia.  Yearly Inflation Rate USA 10.35%; UK 11.9%. Margaret Thatcher’s Government began privatisation of nationalised industries that revived economy ( I think it worked).

1993

Bill Clinton was inaugurated. Islamic Fundamentalists bombed World Trade Center. Earthquakes and floods happened all over the world. The US and Soviet Union signed Start II Treaty ( bilateral reduction of nuclear warheads). The World Wide Web was born.

2005

Hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes all over the world. London bombing, terrorist attacks in India and Egypt. Natural disasters and terrorist attacks are typical features of the past decade, not only of 2005.

So, in general, the years of Rooster most definitely were not the worst years ( not the best either…) For me personally, 1981 and 1993 were both tragic, but 2005 was all right, so I see a trend of improvement 🙂

I think that we sometimes have to get off the carousel, sit back and contemplate for a minute. It helps put things into perspective and illuminate priorities. We might even re-evaluate our ‘bad years’ after all.

This Christmas tree is a part of a charity project.  It was displayed during the Winterval festival in Waterford. Soft toys remind me of a furry friend whom we lost this December.

I took this picture in May. In July my daughter wrote me that Grishnak was dying, and all family members spent some time with him saying goodbye.  Yet, he miraculously recovered after a few days, and I saw him again in August. He lived to welcome another baby in the family, but after that his health started to deteriorate again, and on December 11 he was gone.

This picture was taken in September. Now the empty box symbolises the emptiness he left behind. I didn’t realise that it would be my last picture of him.

This year I lost a relative and several former schoolmates. It was a sad year of losses for all of us as we said goodbye to David Bowie, Gene Wilder, Leonard Cohen, George Michael, Carrie Fisher (dang it, I had to edit this sentence twice before posting this blog! What a horrible year!)  and many others who were part of our life. The last, and the most painful loss that still hurts so much, is the death of beloved blogger friend, the finest Poet and amazing Human, Cynthia Jobin. Here is a link to her last poem she posted just a week before she left us. I keep coming to her blog, like an orphan – I just cannot move on.

Soon we will leave this sad year behind, and I look forward to the New Year’s arrival and the start of a new calendar. I don’t know what this year will bring, I just hope I will do my part and bring something good myself, regardless. The year of Red and Gold Fire Rooster – it will be spectacular if nothing else 🙂 But I do hope it is also kind and gentle on all of us – please, no rooster fights!

Happy New Year to all!

Thank you for your friendship, and for your wonderful blogs that made my 2016 a better year!

rooster

There are links from my previous Christmas – New Year posts:

https://inesemjphotography.com/category/happy-new-year/ https://inesemjphotography.com/2014/12/13/year-is-running-out/ https://inesemjphotography.com/2014/12/06/christmas-story/ https://inesemjphotography.com/category/christmas/

www.inesemjphotography.com

181 comments

  2. Happy New Year from a very warm Sydney – NYE forecast is 28c & yesterday (Friday) it reached 38c so the rain is quite warm :-o)

  4. I’m very much hoping this Year of the Rooster is a better one, especially as I was born in the Year of the Rooster – so I’m taking that as a positive sign:). Hope this is a happy, healthy New Year for you and yours, Inese.

  9. Happy New Year Ines. Always beautiful photos. Do like the one of the rooster gracing the top of your entry. Sad the loses for this year. It did seem like a non stop carousel. Hopefully this year will be different. Interesting the little excerpts of the year of the rooster and what happened that year. It is amazing that you pulled out all those events that puts these events in perspective on their own and stringed together. Always interesting posts you put forth. Be well and all the best to you in 2017

    1. Thank you so much for your comment, Joseph! 2017 is my Zodiac Sign Year, and I looked back and revisited each year of my life trying to figure out if the Stars have affected anything :). That gave me an idea to look up all the Years of Rooster, and my conclusion is that these years were not the worst years for the world in general. You can see that I have too much time on my hands these days 🙂 Have a good year, and be well.

  15. Wonderfully reflective post but Nixon and now trump certainly were cocky men and liars. Not sure how happy about what 2016 has brought Americans.

    1. When President Reagan took office, there were many unhappy people, but he was very good a President. As I wrote in the beginning, I was simply trying to prove that the years of Rooster were not the worst years in the cycle, and we still have a chance.

  16. Nice set of photos, Ines. I like the carnival rides at night. They are always fun to photograph. I like the tree made of stuffed animals. What a great idea. Happy New Year; let’s hope that 2017 is a good one.

  17. Thank you for this wonderful post, Inese — so well composed. I think if we judged any year by the news headlines, it would probably be a bad year… I too hope for a gentle year. Happy New Year. Mega hugs.

    1. Thank you so much Teagan! It looks like this year is going to be critical for me, so I am trying to find answers in the stars and figure out what to expect 🙂 Silly me, I know the year is going to be bad, but I hope that a bit of positivity will soften the blow 🙂 Have a happy 2017!

      1. Neither of us can afford to think like that, Inese. We want to think good things so that we attract good things. As the old adage goes, like attracts like. Wishing you a perfect 2017. More hugs.

  19. New year greetings from Pretoria, South Africa. I’ve enjoyed following your posts this year. Thanks for sharing them. Best wishes for 2017.

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