I am grateful to be ringing in the New Year in a place where I am afforded a couple extra hours to reflect. As we cross the threshold of 2011 to 2012, there are a few feelings about this shift - the most popular being: GOOD RIDDANCE! I will second that; but I also give big thanks.
This life is a fascinating journey, and as many of you have come to know, is the main focus of this blog. Though this year marked the end of my 'sabbatical' that I went on about for a couple of years, it ended up being one of the most dense to date. So personal, painful, joyful, and intense were the paradigm shifts that I often felt too overwhelmed by the experiences to even blog about it - hence the significant lack of soulful and investigative posts this year.
I met and connected with scores of new souls, each of whom touched and moved and lifted me in ways I can scarcely recall in years past. I think it had much to do with being more open myself. When terrifying events in life come to test our characters, or the resilience of our hearts, it's truly the tribes we have formed around us that keep us reaching higher. And this year was high. If there was any moment to question the oddity of serendipitous or seemingly coincidentally unlucky events, all one had to do was truly listen to the tale of another, or turn on the BBC news to truly feel connected to something bigger. I can't remember any time of worldwide uproars such as what we witnessed this year - so much so that TIME magazine name The Protestor the person of the year! To feel this connection is to be charged by it, whatever the circumstances or prior held convictions. The pulse of our world this year insisted on truth, equality, openness, second chances; it demanded a rebirth of ONE spirit, in friendships, business alliances, communities, and nations.
As I prepare to look back while stepping forward, I will set my focus on the very long list of things I have to be grateful for this year; my new friendships and the evolution of old ones, my accomplishments with my creative work, my freedom to travel, and my deeper understanding and connection with my family. And all this despite the very real and frightening challenges I faced regarding all of the above since Jan 1st, 2011.
Perhaps the thing I am most grateful for is in ending the year in integrity. I have no hang ups about how I have related to the world - and I can't truly say that about any other year. I got comfortable enough in my humanity this year to be myself, to stand my ground, and to offer understanding, patience, truth, and love, where ever and whenever I could - and I'm incapable of accounting for the worth of such a gift.
I've always been one to insist on focusing on gratitude - as it's the only way to see what you have to work with rather than to live in lack. It's the only way you will feel abundant enough to help someone else. It is the only way you will feel whole enough to forgive others, or to offer true understanding and compassion. True gratitude will keep fear away, and keep you honest. It's the only way to love your life, to love yourself, and to love your fellow human - who is just as challenged in navigating this journey as you are.
