Looking Forward, Looking Back
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Well, we made it to March 2021 which means we’re officially closing in on the 1 year anniversary of the first round of shelter in place orders. Can you believe it’s been a whole year? Some months felt like an entire year on their own while others seemed to move along a little more quickly.
Who knew that March would become a global anniversary for all of us to take a little time to reflect on the past year... #2020. Most people have celebrated their at home birthday, (mine was yesterday) some will have theirs in the next 2 weeks; but overall we’ve experienced a lot of changes in this trip around the sun.
I was thinking about some of the big themes that showed up for me during this time and how I feel about them now, a year into this process. It’s hard to choose just one aspect because so much has changed, yet so much is still very similar. Are you finding that too?
My big themes were:
Streamlining
Simplicity
Surrender
When I was thinking about this, I could see how they all fit nicely under a larger umbrella of letting go but at the same time, they each feel like they had their own moment and focus during different phases of the past year.
Maybe you can see how your personal themes have a common denominator too.
For me, a huge focus was on trying to get things as smooth and simplified as possible and to keep pivoting when and where I needed to so that I could make space for the unexpected. (to the best of my ability.)
I feel like there’s almost a quality about this year that feels similar to wrapping up a school year. As a student you can look back and point to so many specific things that you accomplished, learned, overcame, and the insane hours of the non-stop getting it done-ness that comes from being a student. As adults, it seems like the growth curve tends to look and feel less severe as it did as a student. However, this past year was a lesson in what seemed like near constant growth.
If you find yourself feeling tired or a bit like you’re crawling over the one year anniversary mark, you’re not alone. We’ve been going through it, simultaneously, even if in our own homes with varying degrees and decrees of lock down orders.
I wish that I could give you a gold star, a certificate of achievement, and a huge high five to help mark all that you’ve been through and how well you handled all this constant and unexpected change handed to you.
I was thinking about the opportunity I’ve had to support people who’ve worked with me during this past year and how incredibly people were rising to the occasion in so many aspects of their lives. Often times, when things get tough we just start where we’re standing and then when we get a little reprieve we almost forget how much we’ve done because we just kept going day after day.
Maybe you:
Became an expert at zoom
Created a home office and officially joined the working from home community
Became a Homeschooling professional or a Distance Learning Wiz
Became an expert at managing multiple schedules, including your own so everyone had a place to work, study, and have some down time.
Became an expert at maximizing small spaces, organizing everything so your space was efficient in setting everyone up for success.
Became really good at capturing small but significant windows of time for yourself so you could decompress.
Became interested in something new like making sourdough starters, canning, gardening, meal prepping, house plants, or _______________.
Became interested in something that you have been meaning to get back to again like playing an instrument, pulling out that sewing machine, or actually writing pages for your book, song, or screenplay.
Became more clear about yourself, your needs, and the direction that you want for your life.
Became more connected to the real you again. Maybe you could more easily hear that small still voice inside letting you know which things were on your list of values and which things had been moved to your list of letting go.
Maybe you’ve fostered deeper relationships with the people in your inner circle.
Maybe you’ve become crystal clear about the way you want to feel, and the way you want to move forward now at this one year anniversary.
Maybe you can see how this time has shaken loose some of the things that were on their way out and you may not have known it at the time, but now you feel much lighter.
Maybe you can see how far you’ve come.
Maybe you can see all the progress you’ve made.
Maybe you can feel an increased sense of self worth and self reliance.
Maybe you can see actual proof in your own life reminding you that you can move toward the things that are calling you. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for and you do have what it takes to make big changes, even when they’re unexpected. Not only did you keep moving forward this past year, but you thrived while taking each step.
I think this is an important moment to stop and reflect on your own personal experiences as well as the overall impact, changes, and shifts that you’ve been a part of for someone else this past year.
None of us arrive at this anniversary alone, we arrive together even if we can only connect via technology, we’re still having this experience together.
Going forward from here, there will be more changes and shifts…more pivots and adjustments. However, it feels like the big stuff is behind us and now we can fine tune depending on where we live and the degrees and decrees of varying lock down orders.
I think two of the most important take-aways from this experience includes remembering to reach out for support when we need it; (yes, that means asking for help.) and letting the people in our lives know that we love them and are here for them even if we don’t live in the same home, community, state, or country.
Save some of that love and support for yourself too. You deserve it and you’re doing a great job!
Happy One Year Anniversary!
With so much love and gratitude, from my teeny corner of the world to you,
Kristy~xoxo
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