The End of 2020 and the Beginning of a New Year
Hi, and welcome to the end of the year. Wait…what does that mean exactly?
People see it as the ending of a chapter. However, this year was a bit different. (Total understatement of the century here).
I feel like the older I get, the end of the year doesn’t matter anymore. Don’t get me wrong…I still envision setting the best goals for myself into the new year. Probably now more than ever. When I was younger, I didn't understand goals. I didn’t know how to set them or work through them. I basically thought it was a waste of time - that if people wanted to change something in their life, they should start immediately. Who cares about the new year?
I think the phrase “A New Year, A New Beginning” makes people hopeful. We want to believe that we will find more success in the future. That’s what we all want, right? To be more successful and happy. That’s why we set goals for ourselves because we think that if we achieve them, we will find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
A lot of people refer to this year as a “dumpster fire”. (I won’t even talk about the THING). I feel like that statement is a little harsh. It means this year was trashed, that it was a waste. But if you examine each moment of the past year, you are bound to find something good. For me, that came in the birth of my daughter. (My little lovely ❤️). I read a lot of books - some new and some repeats. I learned a lot of new things about my business, and helped it to grow. I met new people, and reminisced with old friends. I cherished the time I spent with my family and enjoyed many sunrises and sunsets and warm summer evenings spent in the backyard. There were so many wonderful things about this past year that I remember that calling it a waste is terrible. I would never let the unforeseen circumstances of this year make a waste of a whole year of my life. I GREW. I LOVED. I LIVED.
This upcoming year will probably be more of the same as 2020. People are trying to be hopeful. I’m sorry, but a vaccine for “THE THING” does not put an end to us wearing masks. Nor does it mean that new strains of “THE THING” aren’t already spreading. Technology is great, but mother nature is greater. It is inevitable.
The point of that (even if you don’t agree with me) is that we need to find intrinsic value in our lives. What really matters when our whole society is thrown for a loop? For me, it’s my family and my passions - art, beauty, my home, my inner peace. I made sure that I took care of myself. I love my family, but if I don’t look after myself, who’s going to take care of them? I journal and self reflect on events and feelings. I love to cook and bake. I love to take long, hot, luxurious showers with no kids in the bathroom (LOL). The trick is to find what you love.
Honestly, I found it very irritating when people said they threw their goals out the window for 2020. I think that going through tough times makes you stronger. It creates sinew and muscle and endurance. The issue is that these people broke. They didn’t bend with the curve. When times change, you need to as well. We need to be flexible so we can change our goals to reflect the reality of our lives right now. So what if your vacation to Mexico was cancelled. So was everybody else’s. (Reminds me of that Baz Luhrmann Song “Sunscreen”). You should check it out. It’s older, but has good life lessons for all of us and I listen to it when I need to every now and then.
If you’re reading this, I hope you took away something positive from it. My wish for you is to ALWAYS have hope and view life from behind rose-colored lens. But make sure you’re realistic. Be real to yourself and those around you. Be honest, truthful and kind. We don’t know what struggles others are going through. Always try to pay it forward. And even though our world has changed, we can change too. My goal is to always be better than the person I was yesterday.
Cheers and Happy New Year 🥂
💜 SAN
