How are you? It's been a different holiday season for all of us. I've been working hard at doing the things that help me when I'm feeling unsettled. I even decided after several failed attempts at writing this newsletter to take a few weeks off. Maybe it's carb overload, or maybe it's the lack of sunlight, but I've been feeling lazy. I've also been reflecting on this past year and what I hope for in the next 12 months. It's hard to dream about 2021 with so much uncertainty about the future.
It is still worthwhile going through the exercise. I know that you won't be clear on the impact they have had on you unless you make time to reflect on your life experiences. Without intentional reflection, you miss out on the opportunity to reframe your experience and change the story you may be telling yourself. There are many ways to reflect, and you may have your own process or approach. I've added a tool further down to help you.
On the Winter Solstice, I was invited to facilitate a session at ThinkSpot. I led the group through a ritual that involved unravelling a piece of twine and reflecting on the past year. Each person had the opportunity to throw one of the unravelled pieces into the fire and release the hard parts of the past year. There were as many children as adults in our socially distanced gathering. Hearing the losses these kids shared was a reminder to me that we have all had to cope with so much this year. We also reflected on the good things we experienced and tied the remaining piece of twine around our wrists to help us remember to focus on the things we are grateful for in our lives.
I believe that rituals can help sustain us and bring closure to difficult times in our lives. Involving children in creating and participating in rituals can help them to process their experiences. As a reminder, I have a short, self-directed course available to help you create rituals. You can find it here.
🎁 I also have a free resource on my website to help you review the year. Click here to download a 2020 Year-end Review. I hope you'll make time in the next week to reflect on what you've experienced and how you've been impacted. Most of all, I hope that you see within the struggles have been moments of joy and love in your life.
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