Reflecting on a Very Weird Year
Well, we have almost made it. To the end of 2020.
Perhaps the strangest year of our lives, for many of us. And now we are facing a holiday season with physical distance between us and our loved ones, just when we most need a hug. And yet, here we are.
In my discussions with students and friends and family I hear that you are exhausted, anxious, and stir-crazy. I also hear that you have reconnected with people in your life in new and unique ways.
You have tried a new workout, or maybe decided that working is not really your thing. You finished Netflix. Found a new hobby. Reignited a passion for reading, crafting, dancing, or baking.
You have walked and walked and walked and walked. You’ve had trouble sleeping and sometimes you don’t get out of your pajamas all day. Your canned goods and spices are alphabetized. You have opened your eyes wider to the injustices and inequities in our country, and that has sparked you to take action to make a difference. You took a class, took a break, worked harder and longer hours or watched your livelihood completely change, in a matter of days. Some days you awoke filled with hope; many days you awoke with dread.
Your motivation ebbed and flowed. You laughed, you cried…okay, I think you get it.
Release Expectations
Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels
You may need to release some of your holiday expectations. If your holidays don’t look the way your thought they would, let go.
Adjust your perspective to enjoy your situation, whatever it is. If you can’t have a big family dinner, enjoy the time off and do something else that nourishes you in some way. Create a new tradition or make your alone time into a staycation or at home retreat.
Use your mindful practices to reinforce your resilience, strength and flexibility and invite gratitude for what you have right here and right now.
Pause to Reflect
Through it all, you are still here. And you are still you. As we close the books on 2020 and look forward to 2021, take a pause to reflect.
Photo by clark cruz from Pexels
- What have you learned about yourself this year?
- What is really, really, important to you?
- How do you want to spend your precious time?
- How do you uniquely make a difference in the world, just by being you?
- Have your ideas about what success looks like changed this year?
- What do you want to cultivate as you move forward?
I am grateful for the opportunity to pivot this year, and also completely exhausted by it.
I am going to slow it waaaay down this month, and I will consider those questions. I love posing them to my students, but I admit I sometimes avoid them myself. They are hard!
I am going to rest and regroup and let go of some of the “doing” that I do. I will share some of what I learn, and I hope you will share your thoughts on this with me too!
Be Well. ~Lisa
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Feature Image Credit: Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels
