This whole month feels like we’re in a holding pattern. Normally we understand winter is about rest, about taking a break from the busyness of the warmer months and getting friendly with the darker days. It’s a time to reflect upon the year past, to think about what worked and what didn’t. It’s part of a cycle we feel in our bones. But there is something about this past year that felt like winter – a whole year of winter. Early hibernation was forced upon on us by strange and terrifying circumstances out of our control. Even our customary holiday celebrations were sidetracked and we were left without that end-of-the-year signal telling us it’s time to rest.

 

So here we are, a month into a hopeful new year and instead of feeling restful, there is this overwhelming feeling of “what next?” It feels like we’re holding our breath and just waiting. But waiting for what? To see what a new political administration is going to to do? To see if the vaccine starts to work? To see if we will ever be able to go to a concert again or enjoy the company of a crowd? Yes, to all of it. But instead of feeling anxious about things we can’t possibly know or control, we can still use this time of stillness to our advantage. What can we do to reduce this heaviness in a time that should feel light with possibility?

 

We can turn off the TV, we can put down our phones, we can take a deep breath and really turn inward. After all that has happened, after things have been stripped away, what is it that really matters? What can we let go of, what things no longer serve us? We can unlearn the old paradigm and start seeing life in a new way. We can let go of the thoughts and ideas we’ve been handed by our family and society. We can let go of people that drain us, of activities that no longer resonate with us. We can still use this time to our advantage. It’s up to us to see this time as an obstacle or an opportunity. There is no right or wrong answer here, just a new way of looking at our world. At the end of the day, everything is always working out for us. Always. That you can count on.

 

Love,
Lee