A year is winding down and here’s the big question – Did you live riveted to what resonates most with your heart and soul?
I have done year-end reviews for myself ever since I can remember. I enjoy looking at the 12 months that just passed and thinking “huh, I could have done more of that” or “wow, I really did better in that area.” Sometimes there are years we don’t want to end or ones we can’t wait to see hit the pavement.
In life coaching training many years ago we learned how to look at the various areas or categories of our lives, i.e. career, relationships, health, spirit. That’s certainly a sound approach.
But lately I’m more prone to sit quietly and ponder the year in terms of life satisfaction, fulfillment, joy and inner peace. Did I have enough of those? Yes? Great. Keep on. No? Well, that’s cause for shift. Or I can keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
This can be so, so simple.
Let’s say you’re a person who finds it relaxing to watch a lot of movies. You unwind, you enjoy the art of acting, you’re fond of visual storytelling or maybe you just like being passive because so much in your life doesn’t allow for that. But perhaps 2014 had a few hiccups in it – projects that lasted for months, a loved one who was ill – and your movie watching was infrequent. You feel out of sorts.
What was, was. Now you know how important this activity is to your own sense of relaxation because when you weren’t doing it something felt off. That kind of entertainment is your fuel. It feeds your spirit. Paying attention to that aspect of yourself is crucial.
I remember back in the late 1990s going from being a fulltime daily journalist to one who was strictly editing. While I really enjoy editing, I didn’t know how integral writing was to me at a soul level until I wasn’t doing it. I felt off-kilter and I wasn’t sure why. Since then I do (at least) an annual check-in for myself just on writing – if I’m doing enough of it and if I’m happy with the quality of work I’m producing.
That is life altering.
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of single women in my acquaintance, mostly in their 40s and 50s, lament the things they don’t do because they don’t have a significant other. Because it’s the holiday season much of the talk is about whether to put up a Christmas tree or decorate their home to reflect their holiday spirit.
So to them I’d ask, how would a sparkly Christmas tree or decorated house impact your life? Would it resonate in your heart and soul? The small shift could be a lovely wreath or some garland over a doorway. It could be a bowl of silver ornaments.
The bottom line – aren’t you worth it? Might it not make you feel whole and celebratory? If you have holiday spirit and a desire to express it, why put a condition on that expression?
I’ve had some compliments lately, not on my specific holiday décor but on the fact that I make the effort despite living alone. I have to. It’s who I am. I would never want a great guy to come along and think my decision to decorate my apartment is contingent on him sticking around. Better he see me, real, and choose to be a part of it.
Think about it.
What are you living riveted to and is it authentic for you?
This is the time to ask and act. The next year is coming at us.
By Nancy Colasurdo
