Me, enjoying the perspective, at a Palm Springs overlook

Sometimes to move powerfully forward it’s helpful to examine with perspicacity what’s in the rearview mirror. The truth is we can’t drive skillfully without that rearview mirror.

It turns out this was a good year to gain perspective. Perspective was my word for 2018 and it proved to be useful as I landed there, time and time again. I kept reminding myself to pull back and to look at a situation through a different lens, to heed a microscopic, eye level or eagle view. It often led to epiphanies, large and small.

So as part of my year-end perspective I thought I’d use all of those lenses to reflect, glean and analyze what I learned and then let go of what’s not useful anymore. It’s using that gut instinct (what felt good and what didn’t) that we all have, to discern what to take into 2019 and what to leave in good ole 2018. It takes a bit of patience to cull through the cornucopia of hills and valleys in order to mine the jewels and the evergreen value, but if you take pen to paper, add a little curiosity, and allow the awe and the grime rise to the surface then pretty soon you’ll have a list of lessons that resonate.

For me, what shines through now are the gifts that came from the lows that then bolstered the highs. Here are some of mine. Hopefully it will inspire some of yours as well.

Life Is Buoyant

It was between the fray and the calm, when subtle inner whispers crescendoed, where it continually became apparent how buoyant life is. 

Creativity is My Phoenix

On day 28 my laptop was stolen, which felt like a virtual house on fire, primarily because it wasn’t backed up. And, on day 38 I found myself in deep gratitude for the phoenix that rose from the ashes. That phoenix was my creativity, it’s what saved me.

Gratitude Floats

I found that gratitude floats, as does love. Lighter than air, they are both high vibrations. And, when we infuse some gratitude and love into our down times of sadness, grief, low self-esteem – all low vibrations – it can’t help but raise our spirits. Sometimes it’s simply a question: What am I grateful for right now in this experience? What can I love about myself right now? Then, wait for a soft feeling of relief. We are resilient creatures and gratitude and love are what make us so.

Love is Unstoppable

With so much negativity that pervaded our national psyche this past year, it was the greater love, agape love, that got so many of us through. Surging love for ourselves, from ourselves to the greater love of all we hold dear is what helped. It’s become a movement; talking about lifting ideas, spreading kindness and focusing on what’s good in others and in our lives. That’s a perennial movement worth carrying forward.

We all have the capacity for that kind of love.

Self-Healing is Self-Evident

While I, and so many of my peeps, talked about aches and pains, none compared to what I watched my dear friend go through when she became very ill this year. I felt helpless as I witnessed her mysterious ailments multiply and as her team of doctors grew. It was scary for her and all who love her. Thankfully, after weeks of tests it was not a dire prognosis and her condition is one that is manageable. There have been days when getting out of bed was a chore, yet I continue to marvel at her and her strong will and constitution. And, her dedication to self-healing. She actively engages her health team and her circle of friends and family. It’s been a journey for all of us, as we dove into TLC with a vengeance, and it was a testament to staying fervently on the road.

Stretch Beyond Personal Horizons

Travel was a captivating part of my year, making a cross-country road trip with my sister, traversing the Loire Valley of France with dear friends and taking a Mexican cruise with my parents. Each took me out of my little bubble of comfort and stretched my horizons, not just the travel aspect of it, but looking for the whimsy, while leaning into new rhythms and contrasts truly elevated my life experience. More of that please!

Focus of Where You’re Relentless

As a person who has a to-do list that’s much too long, there were times when I didn’t feel like I was accomplishing all that I wanted to do. But, as I sit here on the bridge between 2018 & 2019, writing down all that I did do, it’s evident that the relentless passions that fuel my soul are what drove my year’s high points, and are what are catapulting me into 2019. And, what I say to myself about those key items that didn’t get done, I say: “Not yet.” I also say, to quote a dear friend of mine, “streamline.” In other words, remove some of those things from the never-ending to-do list that only drag down the anticipation of the yet.

Going through this year-end perspective exercise will make trimming the to-do list so much easier. Whatever I’m not relentless about goes away. Avocations become more vocational.

Simplicity and staying centered on what fascinates and enriches my life, these are what I’m carrying forward. Being intentional, with hopefully a little luck thrown in for measure.

One thing I really enjoyed over the year was my Quick Sunday Read newsletter where I included a Word of the Week, a word that was floating around in the zeitgeist, words that were examined and reframed into interesting uses. I used all of the year’s words in this post to honor that! They are underlined (unlinked). The only one I haven’t used yet is portmanteau, a word than means a mashup of two or more words that then creates another word. I was trying to think of one that would be great to end with, just for shiggles.

So, before I ring off to watch my favorite dramedy, I decided to chillax, ponder an emoticon or two (decided that was Jabberwocky) and just say, hope you had a great year filled with much goodness that you look forward to carrying into next year.

And, thank you so much for reading and sharing Thought Changer. It means the world.