Lighter Days Are Coming
Photo by Good Free Photos on Unsplash
It’s literally true.
I write this on Monday, 12/21 - the winter solstice. Starting tomorrow, each day will be filled with incrementally more daylight (about two minutes). This day is always symbolic, but this year focusing on the idea that each day will be a little lighter gives me hope about our circumstances in general.
I made big personal changes in 2020 that from the outside may have seemed sudden but in reality had been simmering on back burners and in my brain for some time. Between April and the end of July I launched this site, moved, and left WW (formerly Weight Watchers) after 10 years as a coach.
I had been writing my story with no idea of where it was going for at least 18 months before I even thought about publishing a blog (Now is the Time and Who Is This For?). I had been feeling frustrated with some aspects of my work at WW for a couple of years before I left (Growing and Outgrowing). And my beloved house of 20 years had been feeling like too much for a couple of years (A New Home).
I aspire to living with the broad idea that I am exactly where I need to be. That having all of these changes occur within a few months in this particular year is exactly how it was supposed to go. These changes have permitted me to leave things that I had “outgrown” and move towards things that feel like a better fit.
I am reluctant to wax poetic about what the pandemic and 2020 has given us because there has been so much loss, frustration, disappointment, and sadness. But, I do think that broadly, we have all had lots of time to consider the way we live, and to be grateful in ways that we were not before.
Here are the lessons that 2020 gave me, and that I want to remember for 2021:
Your health is everything.
Focus on controlling what you can.
Pay attention to how things (or people) make you feel - act accordingly.
When faced with great stressors, take care of your physical body with sleep, sunshine, and water.
When you are doing/watching/listening to something that makes you feel lighter - take note.
Curate your social media news feed by adding sources of beauty and uplifting messages, and eliminating ANYTHING that brings you down.
Intentionally create moments of time that lift your mood.
Give people the benefit of the doubt - everyone is doing the best they can.
ALWAYS stay curious and open to what may come next.
Finally, seeing friends and family in person, with hugs, is a gift - and when we have some of that back - I will remember not to take it for granted.
What would be on your list of learnings for 2020? Writing it down could be an excellent exercise in self care, and a way to remember this year.
