There is this thing of being comfortable. When you live in a place with people under circumstances and in an environment that I’m familiar with that I feel comfortable in. Life kind of ‘plätschert so vor sich hin”, it moves along with few disturbances. I stay within my comfort zone, I’m in control of my life, do the stuff and am in the company of people I’m comfortable with.

And then: “bang”, it all goes up in smoke.

I’m learning fast and the hard way, that life can catapult me almost instantly way out of my comfort zone and that me controlling my life is nothing more than an illusion.

To be able to adapt to such situations, it’s good to practice, to see what it is like when I’m moving outside my comfort zone, when I need to push myself that little bit harder.

It seemed like a good idea when we planned this some weeks ago. To go swimming on New Year’s Day at the 40 Foot out in the sea in Dun Laoghaire. Last night, I had secretly hoped for storm, wind and rain, so bad that we might have to cancel our plans. While it was very windy, there was no rain but a blue sky with just a few clouds. Bitterly cold – but no reason to cancel our outing.

Getting into the water was the hardest part. When we got  out, I really felt fabulous. It was unbelievably good.

So here is the plan for 2018.

Get out of my comfort zone. Do things I haven’t done before. Experience the thrill, the rush, the excitement. And feel comfortable doing uncomfortable and, at times, very upsetting things.