2024 was a bucket of manure but I've made the best of it ;) Haven't we all? Now let's play that funky music as we kickstart 2025 & change the rhythm!

Join me and let's travel together looking up and laughing in 2025 :)

Dec 30, 2024

Hey there my lovely friends,

I hope this letter finds you well and that the festive season has been so good to you ;) Thanks a million to all who bought my ‘Keep Looking Up’ Calendar, your support was so gratefully appreciated, thank you for supporting my creative business and for supporting me x

I am not sure where my brain is…I might have to order a new one from Amazon Prime ;)

For the first time in a very long time, I had the best Christmas ever. I have never relaxed or switched off as much as I did this year. My brain went completely into a blank space and I have loved every second of it. I actually am not sure where my three brain cells are right now….I think they are taking an afternoon nap haha ;) I watched endless movies over the last week and a bit…none of them on streaming platforms but instead I stayed with our national broadcaster - RTE - terrestial tv all the way - old style here with Lou and I just watched whatever was on….I know…crazy altogether haha ;)

I even watched all the ads and never switced off or over….YES I really had a very traditional Christmas. I’ve watched about seven thousand James Bonds - i’m pretty much ready to be the next 007 if this writing career landslides haha ;)

I am very lucky to have a fantastic tight knit family who I love dearly and we really made some very special memories together. We are not perfect in anyway but we really love each other very much and for that I am so grateful. My mam is an absolute angel and is the ultimate Irish mammy and infuses all elements of our family christmas with endless love and care and of course that infects us all….

Keeping it old style on the Emerald Isle….Knocking on doors and drinking tea ;)

I also am blessed with such lovely friends and neighbours, genuinely I don’t know how I’ve been so blessed but I am so so grateful for each of them. Myself and mam did a lot of visiting in the two days before Christmas - this has now become an old tradition but me and Ollie did a great job upholding it….As we exiting every house and met in the car, we both looked at each other and said in sync ‘god that was definitely worth doing.’ We could sense how thrilled people were to have us visit and the warm reception was very evidential along withe the want for us to stay all night ;) It was after midnight when we return to our own kitchen on Christmas eve. We have continued our visiting rounds since St. Stephen’s Day and again, we both just felt so blessed to have such wonderful homes and famillies to visit along with so many lovely people visiting us too.

Why this Christmas was different?

In the run up to Christmas I was very vocal and focused on the fact that I was going to really be awake, alert and involved in making this a memorable and loveable time and that I was going to really try put in all the efforts to make memories and keep my eye on the good. I truly believe in making that intentional promise to myself, it really added to the enjoyment I experienced this Christmas. I never got stressed. I never got cross or cranky. I didn’t cry endlessly allowing my broken heart, my grief or my worries take control of my experience of this Christmas. No, instead I remained very awake to my responses and my behaviour and I think I can say I definitely created or at least attributed to the best Christmas I have had in a lifetime. Just to mention, this was not becuase some heavy stfuff is not going on in my life, but instead, that I decided to compartmentalise the crosses and instead I made the focused decision to put my eyes on the good. I wasn’t going to let anything negative draw from what is a wonderful opportunity to love the people I love even more and to create magical memories with them.

Love is always the answer!

See what I’ve realised is that it is all up to us how we exper3eince life. Our memories - we create them. We contribute to them. We have a control of a kind to make good times happen and if we really focus, we can indeed have those good times no matter what storms are blowing outside. As they say, or as I say, it’s who you are with not where you are. We all bring to the table the opportunity and efforts to improve and enhance a situation and in this instance I know because of my focused promise to myself, it all paid off. This in ways is manifestation if you might believe in that. I do. I believe in everything. I believe in fate. I believe in effort. I believe in mindset. I believe in mood. I believe in what we bring forward attracts more of that same attitude. I believe in things just happening and people doing what they feel is right for them and it not always being comfortable for us. But as i age and wisdom of who I am begins to strengthen within me, it has allowed me to let go of what I cannot control and to act with intention in the parts of this life that are in my hands….The law of attraction is always willing to be present if we trust in it and if we trust in ourselves. What we put out in this world will come back to us and even if it doesn’t, I believe in the good. I believe in love. I believe in friendship. I believe in helping others. I believe in connection. I believe in making an effort. I believe in reaching out. I believe in appreciation. I believe in leading the way when it comes to kindness, compassion and the only person who I can be responsible for is me, if I am not nice, not soft, not fun, I cannot expect the world to provide that for me. Over the last week or two, and also through being out and about with the calendar, I have been re-awakened to the power of connection and how transformational it is to be loving to each other. I am not here for the world to be kind to me, but instead I am here to be kind to the world. I will not recede into my shell because the world is hard, because people are cruel or because things are not going my way, nope, instead I will push forward with what I believe I was put on this earth to do - TO BE ME! I love fun. I love light. I love love. I love friends. I love strangers who become friends. I also accept friends who become strangers. I accept that things change and people change too. I am open to being wrong. I know many times I am wrong and it has taken mistakes and shadow work on my own behalf to be able to accept those weaknesses within me….I love my family. I love my friends. I love laughter. I love messing. I love having fun. I love young people. I love older people. I love all people. I love deep conversations. I love light chit chat. I love smiling at people. I love hugging people. I love making people feel good about themselves. I love opening people up when they least expect it. I love lightening their burdens. I love holding space and listening. I love chatting. I love swapping ideas and considering other points of view. I love dreaming big. I love taking small steps. I love working hard. I love taking risks. I love wrapping my arms around people who need me. I love when they wrap their arms around me too. I love so many parts of this world and this life, that I understand in ways why darkness now exists. The dark is there to make sure we appreciate the light when it presents itself. The darkness is indeed the reason we can see the light. I wish so many did not have to suffer but as my philosophy teachers always says, ‘we are part of the whole Louise, so to be part of the whole you must be all of the whole and to enjoy every aspect of this world, you must suffer too.” I cannot see light without seeing the dark and in turn it is up to us, when that darkness arrives, what we do with it, if we hold it, suffer it and most importantly if we then turn it back into light. That is indeed the hardest part but the wisdom of it, is that the process and lesson won’t just appear once in your life, but it will appear many times and in every moment, it is up to us, to choose the light beyond the dark….

As I type we are closing in on the end of 2024 and even though this year has been a really tough year in so many ways; that I wasn’t even sure would I heal from the dark parts, I now know I can and am healing and most importantly I am learning and I am become strong once again. I will conitnue to step forward no matter what comes towards me. I have a strength in me that is my gift from God. When all odds are against you, the person you need beside you is me becuase I will always see the good and I will never ever give up on you.

I will find us a path out of the dark and I am so grateful to the people, my friends, my family, my dearest FB family and Substack supporters who have stepped beside me over the last few weeks and have told me what I’ve done for them…..You have told me that I am a lantern in the dark. I have saved you from losing yourself in the dark and even though sometimes my light is a candlewick of hope in what can be a very chaotic world, you have reminded me, empowered me and ignited me to keep stepping forward.

I have been told by a lot of people lately that I am a leader in my field, a very unusual leader but a very vibrant and needed one so I am committing to you here, I will not lie down and hide, I will not stay quiet, no matter how many times I am knocked, I am going to conitnue doing what I am doing…I’ve always known I’m not your average human, I am a little different and the more I lean into my gifts the more I know this is what I’m on this earth to do….I am here to help you through. I am here to remind you of your magic and your amazing beauty and to keep you looking up. I am here to travel the hard times with you and to smile from ear to ear on your good days…I am here to be your everlasting friend. I have no alternative motives, I have conditions, instead I am here to be with you, to stay with you, to witness you and to love you. If anything going forward, I intend to lean in further to inner self, to look up even more and to shine my light even brighter in 2025 no matter what crosses fall on my shoulder, no matter how life pushes against me, no matter the storms, I will stay steadfast and strong and I will continue to step foward alongside you, for you and with you. I will always walk beside you as you walk beside me. Together we move, one day at a time, one hour at a time, one sun at a time, one moon at a time, one breathe at a time, one prayer at a time, one lou and one you at a time.

For 2025 to begin, I have created us a PLAYLIST on Spotify for you and me to play, to giggle, to smile, to dance, to bop and to hit the road running when this new year lands…..Hit play and feel the energy I am sending you as we take this brand new calendar year into our arms, hands, homes and hearts and may health and happiness stay close to you at all times. I think I’ve made a very fun and quirky collection of songs especially for you! Do let me know what you think and if you have any requests just pop it in the comments or I can add you as a collaborator on spotify and you can become my partner in musical messing…..

The Spotify Link is here - Hit save on the playlist and let’s hit the ground running when 2025 arrives….ARRIVING INTO 2025 TOGETHER - MUSIC FOR YOUR EARS AND YOUR SOUL

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1TiIIz8MTKNj7zh5sfDG8M?si=8129203a21684d75

Okey-dokey, time for me to close my peepers and head to my cot :)

Apologies for any typing errors in here but I just wanted to touch base with you before your inbox flooded and you know me, I type as I talk…. ;)

I love you lots my dearest friends and I hope you know how much you mean to me.

Lets look forward into the new year and lets stay close to each other. I’m here for you anyway you need me and you are always in my prayers night noon and morning. If the thought crosses your mind that nobody has your back, I promise you, I have it xx

Lou over and out x

And here I am breathing in, praying, thinking, listening, looking and being so grateful for my life, all who fill my heart with love and my health and my home.

**In noticing and absorbing all the love that surrounds me, I take quiet time and slow reflective walks alone and with friends to lock in all the memories and golden parts of my life and to keep me in balance….and this is indeed the key to living a happy life and being able to truly enjoy Christmas. Nature is the air to my lungs….once I can see the sky and be aware of what God has given us, the big picture resets and then everything feels interconnected and as one for me…..I hope to bring this mindset and this mechanism into 2025 once again and please god I will be able to see the good, love the people who love me and travel safely through the dark with strength, resilience and hope in my heart and always allow kindness be my first port of call no matter what happens x

Living and Lauhging with Lou Home