I ran away.

I ran away yesterday. We were out of the house, Molly and I by 7.30am. We went North and then West. We stopped at Pluscarden Abbey.

I really did stop still and silent at Pluscarden. I sat in the church for about half an hour. It was cold and the only sounds were the whispers of other visitors at first. Even they left the church after a few minutes. All I could hear were the sounds of my own breathing and that high buzzing in my ears. As I waited, the birds who were hiding in the building started to flutter and give a quiet chirp.

I prayed. I didn't sing out loud but there were songs in my mind. There were no flashes of blinding inspiration, no big answers to all the world's problems and no pictures of the way the future will be. There was silence and comfort. The comfort had nothing to do with the temperature.

Molly took me walking through the Monaughty Woods. We went to Elgin for lunch. I met my cousin Rae for a coffee and then we walked Molly and Skye along the beach in Lossiemouth at sunset. With the dogs barking and splashing through the waves, and the busy local traffic, that was the noisiest part of the day.

And then I came back to the real world, with a practice meeting.

I suppose running away would usually mean that somebody noticed, but yesterday was enough for me.

Life and all that.

This is a new blog. This is a new beginning. It could be a short-lived fad or a long lasting pleasure. It could be interesting to some or to none. I suppose life's like that. We can either draw back from new beginnings, thinking of what we haven't yet mastered or we can plunge in with what resources we have and just see what happens.

I'm plunging in this year. So far I have made a dress for the first time on my new sewing machine and I'm committed to helping with a school assembly for the first time next Monday. I plan to go to Australia for the first time. I have bought winter tyres for the first time. I met my future sister-in-law's parents for the first time the other day. So far these first times have been great. I even wore the dress to meet the in-laws!

No doubt some of my first attempts this year will be a disaster, but I'm learning slowly not to fear the little risks. Maybe soon I'll learn not to fear the medium risks.

To quote someone very famous, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough worries of its own." More or less.

May your year be full of new experiences, and may every one of them enrich your life.