Embrace Life was my theme for 2021. I usually spend a significant amount of time reflecting on the ending of this current year and focusing on hopes and wishes for the next one. This year has been just as much if not more of a doozy than 2020 when it comes to the weird and wild world of living during a pandemic and so that hasn’t happened…yet. I’m leaving this space open to return for further reflection after I get some sleep. I made it to watch the ball drop on the East Coast and I’m heading off to bed to rest before the baby wakes up.
2022 has come through for me with the words Restore and Strengthen. Sending that out into the Universe and will see how it comes back to me.
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It feels very 2021 to be returning to wrap up this year end post on 2/3/22. January was long and uncertain but February feels hopeful with a chance at another new year. The Lunar New Year recently passed and spring is just around the corner.
2021 did bring some passing moments of “Embracing Life” With the availability of vaccines and a better understanding of COVID, my family and I had more opportunities to connect with family and friends in person. We took a couple of small trips as a family, one of which was not so fun and the other was super lovely. My daughter turned one and my husband turned forty and we were able to celebrate both with outdoor parties. I feel that much of the life that was embraced included the day to day of being a new parent. Watching a little person grow and change is both wonderful and sad. It’s so fun to see my daughter grow and change and then I also deeply miss the little baby that she was. Sometimes life is just about taking a deep breath and soaking it all in.
And it would be a remiss recap of life if it didn’t also include some of the dark bits too. One of the more notable disappointments of 2021 was that a long-time teacher of mine and someone I had looked up to was called out as being abusive. I have considered Elena Brower a teacher and influencer of my practice for many years so when I saw the open letter that Tatum Fjerstad wrote to her about abuse she endured, my heart sank. I was so bummed but to be honest not surprised. I had witnessed small versions of what Tatum spoke to but I believe her experience wholeheartedly. It left me wondering what harm I have caused over the years and how I had considered her safe and inspiring.
Overall 2021 was kind to my family. We stayed well and have many blessings to be grateful for. But this pandemic has highlighted many of the ways in which we are all beholden to a way of life that might not work for folks much longer. I know I am often left asking myself if there is another way to not just exist but to thrive. I want that for my daughter and her future. I don’t know yet what that looks like but my curiosity and sense of adventure begs for an answer.