How do you end your year?

I feel like 2021 ended in the blink of an eye.

And I also feel like I say this every year.

This year particularly felt like it went by slow, and then really, really fast. I also think about these past two years and the collective trauma we’ve been experiencing as this pandemic seems never-ending.

I have a practice that I’ve been doing for a number of years now to close out my year to help me transition into the next year with grace and clarity.

Reflection is a huge part of my personal growth and daily life, of being able to make sense of the things that don’t seem to make any sense at all. Taking the time to contemplate life and make meaning helps us deal with the experiences of life that have impacted us, consciously or unconsciously.

Every year, I take time to reflect on the year, to honor what this year offered me, all that I took from the year, and all that I created.

When I did this, I couldn’t believe all that had occurred for me this year. I wanted to share that practice with you as we close out this year, which may have felt like a lot of doom ‘n gloom or feeling like “where did this year go?”.

I can get to the end of a year and wonder,

What did I accomplish?

Who was I this year?

What the heck happened?!

I sure felt a lot of that this year. So here it goes…

Who was I and what did I create this year?

• I made space for healing – I embarked on a number of experiences to support my own healing journey…therapy, sound healing, energy healing, and rest, lots of rest. And I needed allll of it this year!
  

• I can feel gratitude and sadness at the same time and that is okay – I had many times throughout this year where I was grateful for the life I have and also felt grief for what was no longer. I grieved the loss of friends, family members, my previous life and home in San Francisco. I also felt so much gratitude for my life, finding a new home in Ft. Lauderdale, getting to travel and see dear friends, the healing power of my body and mind, community, and of course my pup Iggy :) You don’t need to feel one emotion over the other. Emotions are energy—they shift and flow like the ocean.
  

• I was reminded of my resilience – In May, I broke my wrist which was a huge blow to what I had planned for the second half of this year. It came on the heels of selling my grandmother’s house and releasing her life’s treasures, a very long 4-year process! I was feeling like I could finally make time and space for my life. This was also injury #3 in 5 years. Instead of denying support thinking I could do it all myself, which is my typical go-to, I reached out to ask others for support—to bring me meals, do house chores, or just visit me.
  
  I said mantras to myself while I was in physical therapy when I was feeling like I was making no progress and was in pain
  

  • My body is strong.

  • I am resilient.

  • I am healthy.

  • I am healing.

  • My bones are strong and resilient.

  • My bones and my body are getting stronger every day.

  • I am a warrior.
    
    What you tell yourself is powerful.
    

• My dreams are being manifested in unexpected ways – almost 4 years ago I wrote out what I wanted to create as a business for myself. It was a simple mind map drawing on an idea in the middle of a page and all the ways that would be manifested. I was working full-time in training and leadership development as well as teaching yoga part-time in another city. I had no idea what everything would look like or how it would be.
  
  I wanted to create a business around women’s empowerment with workshops, women’s healing circles, retreats, writing, yoga teaching, meditation, and artwork. This year, even amidst the challenges I faced, I was able to see this mind map manifest in real life and it wasn’t part of any goals I set in January 2021, it just happened.
  
  I hosted 7 women’s circles, created and hosted a women’s retreat, taught A LOT of yoga, wrote many days, and published a gratitude journal. So when I’m feeling like my dreams are not possible or I haven’t made it as far as I have wanted, I look back at this list and that mind map from 4 years ago and remember.

If you’ve read this far, yay and thank you! There is a much longer list, but these are a few of the highlights, which I hope can spark a little reflection and celebration for yourself.

Here are some reflection questions to help you get started and a prayer for you to carry into this year.

• When you look back at this year, what all occurred for you? What was the impact?

• What did you create for yourself and others?

• What experiences impacted you most this year?

• What do you want to remember about this year for yourself?

Wishing you a graceful transition so you can begin 2022 with clarity and peace!