Reflections of 2022
As we come to the end of 2022, we have the opportunity to reflect once again on another year gone by. I don’t know how it was for all of you, but for me 2022 felt inauthentic. What do I mean by that? Well, it seemed like most were trying to go back to “normal” life (i.e. life before Covid) and forget or ignore all that had happened during the Covid pandemic. Many appeared to be attempting to unlearn the lessons they had learned. And, others just wanted to make up the time “lost” in the two years prior, but in doing so were absolutely missing out on what was present. I, too, often felt caught up in the rush of “normal life” and fell into old patterns of doing, doing, and doing some more.
However, as I look forward to 2023, I want to create more balance and serenity. In 2020 the pendulum swung to a place of near immobility for many, and in 2022 it swung to the other extreme of speed and demands. What would it look like if we could take the good parts of the pandemic: less busyness, more rest, more time for family, less pollution, etc…, and intentionally incorporate more of this into “normal life” in 2023?
Many of us might be thinking about making New Years Resolutions. For the majority these resolutions tend to speak to what we will or will not DO in the coming year: exercise more, eat/drink less, spend less, etc. However, I invite you to contemplate on WHO and HOW you want to BE in 2023. Once you connect with what drives YOU, what makes YOU YOU, and what you discovered about yourself in the stillness of the pandemic, the doing part will just follow. And it will follow in ease and flow- no pushing, sacrificing, or will power required.
Although this sounds simple, I’m sure we can all agree that it is not easy. It is so very challenging for us to give up old patterns of behavior. Decades of familial, cultural, and societal wiring in our brains telling us what we “should do”, “should be”, and “should have” makes it nearly impossible for us to choose to be/live/engage in a different way. But, there is a way to beat these neural patterns. You can learn how to gain command over your brain so that you can effectively recognize when one of the old patterns is trying to drive, intentionally disengage from that pattern, and choose another way of being/responding. This can only be accomplished through the practice of mental fitness. Practicing mental fitness on a daily basis until it is integrated into a way of life is the only means by which we can rewire our brains and attain the command that will allow us to effectively choose, minute by minute, how we want to show up for that moment.
I hope that in 2023 you will consider learning more about the practice of mental fitness so that you can make your resolutions a reality. Wishing you all a year of wonder, delight, and much love!
