By Tom Merriman
Shelter from a white hot Sun
Few leaves of green over miles of sand
Blue skies overhead
Bask in the seclusion of the Hidden Place
Feel safe in the cooler shade
Escape from the meanness of the surrounding day
Regroup
Replenish
Refresh
Always find your Oasis
Blissful golds
And lapping waves
Serene
And soothingly silent
Relax
And clear the mind
And merely take a moment
Watching the ebb and flow
As waves come hither and thither
The mist on the horizon lifts
And breeze gently blows as gulls flock
The only movements in the stillness of the passing day
And the sands of time patiently wait
Godrays reach forward
Sending final shards of light,
Peace across day’s end
2019 had the third lowest number of posts published on Beyond the Sphere since the blog began back in 2010. I only managed to publish 222 posts, which, considering I spent considerable time ‘away’ from the blog last year, isn’t too bad an achievement. On the flip side, the year had the fourth highest number of likes, averaging at 13.4 likes per post, which I’m eternally grateful for. I would, however be just as grateful for one like for the whole year, so to get 2,968 means I’m thrilled to bits.
I posted a total of 47,950 words last year – the lowest number since the blog began, even beaten by the first year, 2010, which only began in May. But hey! I did post a lot of short posts… and a few pictures which balances things out a little. That’s my excuse, anyway!
My top category for posts was Feel GOOD!, which it would be as I use this category for every post I write. That’s really the whole point of blogging, for me, so regardless of the content of the post, that is my main intention. That hasn’t changed since 2010. My top tag was Feeling Good, which is quite a new tag brought in for the ‘featured image’ item on a previous theme I used, but like the Feel GOOD! option I now use it for every post. It’s always good to have little reminders of these things, I feel!
I’ve managed to Feel GOOD! throughout all of 2019, even through the latter months of the year where things that would be considered a deviation from the norm occurred. A positive attitude helps with any situation, and I feel this helped me through as well.
It’s now 2020. As of yet, I don’t know if I’ll be posting daily, weekly or as often as I can, although I feel it will be the latter – which is probably the better option anyway for me. I’m planning on writing away from the blog, which may or may not appear on the blog during the year, we shall see. I’m also planning on getting more creative artistically, and I’ll probably share these creations either here or on my other blog Splodge and Splatter – but there’s a whole New Year ahead to see where these turn up.
So, I will say Happy New Year once again. Happy January. Happy New Decade. Happy Times.
