Having recently had some really nice plum jam, I was reminded of an interesting conversation I had a while ago with a friend who helped me to see the inspirational potential of plums… Yes, that’s what I said. Not a euphemism for anything else. The fruit.

I have a birthday coming up soon and to celebrate, my wife and I have arranged a weekend trip to Berlin. She has introduced me to the rather enlightening concept of celebrating birthdays as opposed to just letting them pass by as quickly as possible with as little fuss as possible, but maybe that’s a subject for a future post.

As a result of having arranged this trip, I am now really looking forward to it. It’s a place I’ve never been and there will be lots of new things to see, feel, taste, hear and experience.  Out of curiosity, I asked a few friends what they were looking forward to in the near future. Answers included a jazz festival, a trip to Wales, sunny weather, booking a holiday and going home after a hard day’s work.

Quite a mixed bunch of responses but it perhaps indicates that it’s not about a ‘big’ or ‘small’ event that you’re looking forward to but what you get from it. I sense that some people feel they don’t have anything to look forward to, but maybe it’s a matter of how you see it.

The friend I mentioned earlier follows the food seasons and as a result, after a plum-less few months, he is really looking forward to plum season and having a bite of the first ones.  Some people don’t like plums. He loves them. And that’s the important thing.

From time to time, when things are perhaps not going so well, having something to look forward to, however seemingly big or small, can be incredibly motivating and help you through challenging times.

So, what are you looking forward to? What is your plum season? And if you don’t feel there is anything? Are you sure? How could you look at things differently? Either way, what’s stopping you arranging something now?

Tschuss.