My keyword for 2025 is LIGHT.

Light to me is the gateway to a productive, happy and fulfilled life all round, both professionally or and in my personal life too.

It’s a reminder for me to:

– Shine bright and stay authentically me.

– Continue to embody taking consistent imperfect action in my job search in alignment with the person I am and love being.

– Embrace my imperfections and be kind to myself.

Note to self: Imagine you are talking to your best friend or colleague and the words you would say to them – think before you speak in a judgemental way out loud to yourself. Notice it and catch it when you can! If you don’t catch it, don’t worry, forgive yourself and make a note to catch it next time 😲

– Stay grounded in my core purpose and values and all that matters to me most in life. Love, peace and joy is very important to me all round plus I also value authenticity, hard work, loyalty, integrity, diversity, a good sense of connection and great collaboration with whoever it is, family, friends and colleagues, celebrating each others’ successes too as well as supporting their growth, ideally maintaining clear, positive, kind and respectful communication. And finally, playfulness and embracing the need for creativity, laughter and inspiration to enhance happiness, self-esteem and productivity which has a ripple effect on all those around you.

– Continue to learn new lessons and gain new insights through each of my life experiences. Mistakes and bumps on the road are the only way to grow!

– Continue to spread my light across all the different communities I am connected with – friends, colleagues, business connections – and embrace new opportunities for growth and expansion.

– Prioritise self-care, practice mindfulness and gratitude always.

– Continue to incorporate musical and mindful practices and child-like play into my daily routine, which serves a great purpose to me in increasing productivity, creativity and clarity along my journey in finding my dream role with an employer “who accepts me as I am with the skills and talents I have right now, someone who looks beyond my imperfections and sees the potential in me as someone they can mould to become the greatest version of myself in line with their business needs and desires, someone who can see beyond my struggles and weaknesses, someone who they can see growing and thriving in their organisation using what I have right now.“ (quoted from one of my recent blogs).

– Trust my own intuition and guidance. My heart and authentic being is now leading the way in 2025!

Hope I’ve given you some food for thought… Happy and healthy new year all!!! Let’s make 2025 an exciting, successful and positively memorable year!

In holding on to all the good things from 2024, and it being the last day of Chanukah, I thought I would reflect on everything during the past year to solidify the positives (and light) I can pull from each of my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned.

I’m so grateful for my Jewish identity now more than ever this past year whilst absorbing everything that has happened in Israel and the antisemitism that has spiked big time all around the world. We are an absolute miracle – this is a core part of who I am and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am so proud of the Jewish people as a collective, and all that we stand for, and the joy that the Jewish spirit brings to me and my family. I’m also really grateful to all our friends – whatever their religion or beliefs – all those who have stood with us in our time of greatest need and believed in the truth of who we are and our innate capacity for love and peace.

It was such a miracle this year that Christmas fell on the same day as Chanukah. We started our Chanukah celebrations when the sun went down and the stars came out whilst during the daytime, Christmas was being celebrated by many people. This has only happened 3 times in the last 100 years – and I believe it is a true sign of the times and especially true of the close friendship that we have built with our fellow Christians, especially this past year since October 7th, who have played an important role to help us fight the toxic antisemitism that has plagued the world after the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. I’ve loved every minute of Chanukah this year, and the light it has brought to me and all those people who have been inspired by the light we have shared around the world on social media, the shining bright public Menorahs at outdoor community events, indoor community events, in our homes with our families, the joy it has brought to the kids in lighting the candles and exchanging presents… Our lights have shined really bright this year.

I am so grateful for all the music that has inspired and uplifted me this year, whether it’s through the two choirs I’ve attended – Rock Choir and Mill Hill Community choir, the karaoke sessions I organise virtually every month at the Sync Bar, through chakra dance and Natalie Southgate’s enlightening and fun chakra dance meditations or through all the sound baths I’ve attended too which have been a great release, and also, all the amazing musicians I’ve come across on social media or YouTube that you may or may not have seen me share on Facebook in my news stories.

I’m grateful to have taken part in the “You’re the voice” Rock Choir event in November this year at the New Wimbledon theatre – the atmosphere was so incredible. I am looking forward to starting weekly Rock Choir sessions later on this month as we’ve had quite a long break over the winter break – I’m definitely now ready to rock ‘n’ roll again, and looking forward to the new singing experiences I’ll take part in this year!

I’m also grateful for the opportunity to participate in my first orchestra concert last week playing the flute for a local community soup and doughnut lunch to celebrate the 6^th day of Chanukah. As well as it being initially nerve-wrecking, I was surrounded by a warm group of people and we had fun with it and I managed to laugh those nerves off, and just enjoy the feeling of getting myself out there doing something a bit different and brave too, doing the best I could, and learning some new lessons for the next time. It’s a totally new “listening” experience playing in an orchestra compared to playing on my own especially when it comes to timing the notes exactly with the other instruments, but also, developing a real mindful awareness of the sounds of the other instruments to listen out for, which is a new technique I am developing. As well as identifying those areas I could improve on for next time, there is also an element of patience that goes along with this as part of the learning process and being kind to myself in the moment.

I’m also grateful for all those job opportunities and freelance work this year that have come my way this past year that have played a big role in strengthening my recent work experience, amplifying my skills in the process, opening new doors for personal growth and development and increasing my own self-confidence and self-worth. I’m looking forward to what this year will bring, the people I will meet and the new opportunities that will arise.

Finally, I’m so grateful for simply being alive, especially when I think about those who are suffering so much right now and don’t have this opportunity. Life isn’t perfect by any means but I have learned to embrace it as it is, nurture my soul’s needs more and really get in touch with what makes me glow inside, and nurture the good and all the positive relationships that surround me. Music has become my sanctuary but also such a catalyst for my growth and expansion and has inspired me to grow through my experiences of life in general especially this past year which has been a real learning curve – learning how to thrive in the darkness, learning how to live and enjoy life in the best possible way despite what other people might think of me, and learning how to best change my perspective on life despite how it might look on the outside.

2024 has been a life-changing year which I will never forget. May the tears of 2024 water the seeds of 2025, today and beyond. It can surely only get better now.

Cheers to a fabulous, magical, successful year and a peaceful one too full of light, love and joy.

Firework by Katy Perry

Keep shining your bright light in 2025. May the light continue to shine each and every day of the year without it needing to be Chanukah. Let’s make 2025 an amazing year!!!!