Happy New Year!

On the West coast of the US we are celebrating the last day of 2022. In years past I would be getting ready for a big sparkling party with all kinds of delicious foods, and fun hats and noisemakers. The house would be filled with people celebrating the coming year, and each other. If that’s the way you’ll be welcoming the new year I wish you a wonderful party, and please send me the photos of all the fun!!

This year, I’m doing something very different. A few weeks ago, I participated in  a writing workshop led by my friend Megan Walrod.  She led us through a look back over the year. We lit a candle and made two lists of all of the most memorable events from 2022.

• List 1 was all of the celebrations. Month by month starting in January, I listed the moments or events that felt like a high point?
• List 2 was all of those events of 2022 that felt challenging or like a low point.

List 1 was long, and the page ended up with writing all over it. Most of the high points, or gratitudes, were for connections with people throughout the year. It was nourishing to revisit all of the love, good feelings, and accomplishments.

List 2 was a lot shorter, and came with a surprise. I realized that many of the “challenges” were also gratitudes. They gave me opportunities to grow in ways I didn’t expect. I got to own my responsibility in a number of situations and see how I could make different or better choices in the future.

Acknowledging everything the year brought allowed me to feel a sense of completion with 2022, and look forward to 2023 as a “clean slate”.

If it feels like a fit, I invite you to take a few minutes and look back over the year. You could put pen to paper, or take a walk in nature and let the year roll through your mind as you breathe the fresh air. There may be some really hard things that you are happy to leave behind. See if you can feel gratitude for the gifts of 2022.

I would love to hear how you celebrate the transition of 2022 to 2023.

Here in Seattle, my husband Ron and I will be heading out for a walk, then spend a quiet evening at home with a nice meal and some fireworks on TV. This extrovert never thought she’d look forward to a quiet evening at home, welcoming the New Year. Who knows? Maybe next year, a party…

Excited to see what connections, gifts, and surprises appear for all of us in 2023!

Love and Happy 2023!

Edie

PS – This exercise doesn’t have to be done at any particular time of the year. You could also do a quarterly review, if that feels right.