Life is an ocean,
And love is a boat that keeps us afloat.
Lyrics from The Voyage by the Irish singer-songwriter Christy Moore.
Dear friends,
As we pull up our anchors and set sail on the sea of this new year,
Let love be the fuel for our journey.
Each new year presents us with a clean sheet,
A blank page on which we will write part of the story of our lives.
Let's pause for one minute to express gratitude for this new beginning.
Welcome back.
As you sit on the bridge of your vessel and take control,
You'll notice that your view is to the front rather than behind.
This is as it should be.
Time and life move forward,
Not backwards,
And so it ought to be with us.
As we move forward in the journey of life,
We must have a destination in mind.
You will have heard the expression,
If you do not know where you're going,
Any road will take you there.
In this journey,
We need to establish coordinates.
We need to set a destination.
Then,
Keeping that destination in mind,
We must remain alert,
Alert to what is going on right in front of us and around us.
We must practise remaining present,
Paying attention in the here and now,
Paying heed to the people we are meeting day by day in this journey of life.
We pause now for another minute to consider our companions on this journey.
Welcome back.
We are told that our world is suffering from an epidemic of loneliness.
Social connection,
The quality of our relationships with others,
Is an important contributor to individual and community health.
Lack of social connection has an adverse effect on the health of the individual and of society as well.
Luckily,
We are each supplied with a vaccine to remedy that illness.
The vaccine is sitting unused and neglected,
And what a great pity that is.
Especially since the healing agent is painless,
It costs virtually nothing and has no side effects.
There are no pills to be taken,
No injection required.
What can this be,
This magic formula,
This remedy for a loneliness epidemic so widespread?
It's simply this.
We must pay attention and speak to our fellow travellers.
Just lift that phone and ask someone how they're doing.
We are all on this voyage together,
And it is a pity to see people confined in their own cabins.
That seems to be the case for many people.
If loneliness is to be beaten,
Someone must make a move.
Why not you?
Why not me?
If not you,
Who?
If not now,
When?
So welcome aboard.
Get ready for a memorable time and a great experience on this stage of the cruise.
May you experience many reasons for gratitude in the year ahead.
Many experiences of happiness as this wonderful voyage proceeds.
A final word.
I'm so grateful every day for my wife,
Fran.
My patient companion on my journey of life for almost 50 years.
Fran has given me this poem for you.
Some words of inspiration and encouragement for the year ahead.
She wishes you peace,
Happiness and friendship.
Morning has come.
Give me courage to release my anchor and paddle along on the sea of life.
May I be able to withstand any stormy waters and appreciate the calm.
May I be mindful of life's other seafarers,
Those with broken oars,
Those with sea piracy tendencies and those who watch out for us when the sea of life gets too stormy.
May I be thankful for the blessings of all those I have encountered on the sea of life so far.
At the close of each day,
May all find restful and peaceful harbour until one by one we reach our final docking place.
Namaste.
