If your reading this, you made it!  The year is almost done, and tomorrow we will start the roller coaster again for another 365 days of fun, tears, toil, and love in our mortal palace.  We have seen some great struggles in 2014 all over the world.  A place that today seems so small, yet for those fighting for their lives, help is so very far away.

Steven Markham Photography – Pittwater

I think the best way to sum up some of the less desirable events is this;
‘People radicalise religion, not the other way around’.

We are an imperfect species, so blaming a book on why some people interpret words a certain way is ignoring the morality of everyone’s choice to put the book down.  Ask a hundred people to describe a certain piece of art and you will get an array of descriptions, ask a hundred to read a book and you get the same.  The level of violence we have seen this year is nothing new, what is new is the availability and accessibility to content that allows the dissemination of violence.  No longer do you march down the park and stand on your soap box to be heard, you simply do what I am doing.  Write it and post it!
Those with any sort of history knowledge will know that religion bares little on a persons ability to wage war.  It may be the banner under which war is fought but it certainly does not predispose or isolate people out for a definite path of violence.  People make their religion be represented in good and bad ways based on their decisions.  There is good everywhere, what religion you subscribe to bears little to me on how I feel about you.  I don’t care if you are a Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, or Christian, we all know what is right and wrong, and if you are a good person then my door is open…

One shot!  It really is one of my favourite phrases and so perfectly puts things back into perspective if I waiver a little.  It was only a couple of years ago when in the throws of depression I was really unable to see any light, nor any bloody tunnel!  Today, life really is just one shot.  Make the call and dive on in, search your library for that book or that CD (remember those), turn off all other distractions most of all your phone…light a candle, and just breath.

Jason Owen Broadcast Engineer

What will next year bring?  Well quit honestly, change, yes change.  It comes every year and it will never stop.  Embrace it and have a crack at life…as for what else next year will bring, I am more than happy to find out on the way.  Its one of the things you cannot Google 🙂

The year is over people, thank you to the people that have supported my BLOG this year.  Here are a couple of stats…

Over 9500 people have viewed my BLOG this year.  Of that the most popular post was ‘The Storm’, followed very closely by, ‘Why do Men Cheat’.

People from 83 nations viewed my BLOG!  The top three were Australia, Ireland and then Algeria.  Thank you guys…

Thank you to my beautiful partner, my children, my family and friends.  None of us would ever make it through any year without each other.

Lastly, I have been blessed to be able to showcase a friends fantastic photography this year.  Steve and I went to high school together and his work is just fantastic.  Please check out his website, you can even order prints online…good on you mate, cant wait to see what you offer up next year 🙂

Steven Markham Photography

I will close for 2014 by asking you all a favour…please tell at least one person you love them today.  Do it before the night takes over, do it as their is nothing more important today, not anything…

Peace where ever you are…