I don’t want to become someone who is too sure about things. I want to be a friend of doubt, just like Anthony Bourdain was. He said, “Life is complicated. It’s filled with nuance. It’s unsatisfying… If I believe in anything, it is doubt. The root cause of all life’s problems is looking for a simple fucking answer.”
So no simple fucking answers. I’m fine with that.
2023 has been quite surprising. I have streamlined my commitments – cutting and letting go – to create more ‘open time’ in 2024 to do some personal projects I’ve been wanting to do. This is an exploratory and learning phase, and I’m feeling good and excited.
I ended the year having learned some major lessons about life and existence, which I will outline in this year’s ’23 thoughts and lessons from 2023′. I’ll update with the link once I’ve written it. If you’re interested you can read last year’s ’22 thoughts and lessons from 2022′ here.
Another update is I am now studying for an open degree with the Open University. An open degree means you can combine different subjects and create your own multidisciplinary degree. It’s wonderful.
There are many things I like about the Open University, the main one being how it has offered many people the chance to get an education in circumstances that would normally have prevented them from doing so. That high-quality education can and should be accessed by anyone, regardless of their previous qualifications, is a forward-thinking idea and something I can stand behind. Yes, you don’t need any qualifications to study at the OU. I think that’s ground-breaking, even for 2023, and the world is better for it. So even though I don’t actually need a degree, I’m very happy to be a part of this and I’m having a lot of fun learning for the sake of learning.
(My brain hurts though. I haven’t written a proper essay since 2005!)