Photo was taken at Altamount, Millstreet, Co.Cork (Irl)

This ‘Winter Cherry’ adds lovely colour during January. As much colder weather begins to set in, I’m wondering how all these little buds will stand up to the big dip in temperatures.

Thought on Tuesday – January – 15/01/2013

‘Life is full of beginnings, some genuine and some only apparent. We all strive, at some stage in life, to make a new start, to move on, hoping somehow to improve the quality of our lives.’ ~Brian Doyle


The start of a new year is always greeted with a sense of expectation. We hope things will work out for us, hoping to change something in our past and resolving to try something new. Today marks the half way point in January. How time flies. Our new years resolutions probably seem in the distant past now. Our initial enthusiasm may have drifted and faded. This is normal and few can maintain the energy needed to sustain new beginnings and fresh changes over a period of time.

But this should not stop us from shying away from beginnings. A fresh start and a new beginning is what sustains life. At the heart of the Gospel stories is how Jesus constantly encouraged people to seize a fresh start and to have the strength and courage to follow through with any change. Massive sweeping changes rarely work but one small positive change is the one that can make all the difference. Today is a fresh start and a new beginning. Nothing matters more than what happens today.