simpleek

When we begin entering the final stretch of a year before we usher in a new one, I like to pause and reflect on the past 12 months.

I think it’s a good exercise to look back. You not only remember what went well during the year, but you also acknowledge what didn’t go right. You can give yourself the space to feel the anger, disappointments, and sadness that came with the bad parts of the year before gently and compassionately letting them go. It’s a great way to enter the new year with more hope and optimism.

I’ve had years that were good, mediocre, or just plain bad. The bad ones are always the hardest to release. It’s easier to sit there and stew in the pain and negativity of nothing going your way, like the universe decided to conspire against you for whatever reason. I’ve experienced it all, and those moments of reflection has been an opportunity to write out all my thoughts and emotions in order to move forward and with much less baggage than I started out with.

When I think about this past year it has been more or less very good to me. I purchased and now own the apartment I moved into over the summer before interest rates ballooned to astronomical levels. I managed to go on more vacations with both family and friends. The company I work for underwent a period of instability and restructuring, and I survived that with my job still intact. And finally, I had the honor to become a first time bridesmaid at my two very good friends’ wedding. All in all, I’ve been lucky. Knowing I have been this fortuitous in 2022, I take none of it for granted.

Life is a wheel. It can go up and down at any given moment. In my case, despite the state of the world we’re presently living in, I coasted the year without so much as a scratch. When I think about it now, I’m almost a little suspicious, like what has happened to me this year is too good to be true. I can’t help myself from sometimes having a mentality of “waiting for the other shoe to drop” because I haven’t had what I would call a “very good year” in the past. They were either unremarkable or just plain horrible that you can’t wait to say good riddance to the year.

Whatever streak of luck I’ve had this year, I only hope it continues in the new year. No one knows what the year ahead will bring. You never know if it’ll be a good year or a difficult one you’ll have to endure and ride out. But no matter what happens, I’ll always try to be humble and gracious for everything that comes my way. Big or small.

Whatever huge wins or tiny victories you had, make sure to toast those successes on New Year’s Eve. Life can get really bad, but it can also be good if you’re willing to stop and take notice.

I wish you all a joyous and abundant new year. See you all in 2023!