Photo(s): Stephanie Bennett Vogt
“We never ever need to improve ourselves. We just need to return to ourselves.”–Glennon Doyle.
2020. What a wild, turbulent ride it has been! As I write this, the carefree days of a year ago feel so remote, almost untraceable, don’t they? Do you remember where you were when you first donned a mask and were asked to wait your turn to get inside a store? It’s like we’ve packed years into just one.
And here we are 9 months later. (The symbolism is not lost on me).
Before we say goodbye to 2020 for good and welcome a whole new chapter, it might help to reflect a bit on the ways that this year has been a gift: to consider the upside of downtime; to take stock on some of pleasant surprises and maybe even small miracles that could only be revealed when we slow down enough to experience them.
As I look back, I recognize that my year was way more gentle and forgiving on me and my family than on so many others. But taking a moment to reflect and marvel on all of it – the good, bad, and ugly – has been profoundly valuable, if only to give me some perspective, and dare I say, 2020 hindsight.
So I made a list of ways that this year has been a gift and a blessing for me. Here’s the short version (in no particular order):
- The quiet. Walking around the empty streets of our neighborhood at the beginning of the pandemic was both surreal and sublime. Quiet is like oxygen to me. I’d forgotten how precious it is to live with a full tank.
- Zoom. It seemed so complicated a year ago, and now I can’t imagine life without it. I’m so grateful for a technology that allows me to teach what I love, and connect with friends and family from the comfort of my kitchen.
- The West Wing. Yes, every…single… episode… (savored, not binged). Aaron Sorkin’s masterpiece is a tonic for these times and as relevant today as it was 20 years ago when it was made. At one episode every night, it took us 5 months to get through it. And perfect timing too: it got us through the worst of the Presidential elections and helped to re-envision a kinder, more unified country.
- Women’s wisdom. There’s nothing more potent and transformational than a safe circle of women coming together to share stories and listen deeply. Thanks to Zoom, 2020 was a banner year. I’m especially grateful to the women who journeyed with me using my book A Year for You as their guide. I know this shouldn’t surprise me anymore, but getting to witness the blossoming effects of women saying YES to themselves –yes to slowing down, yes to radical self-care – really thrills and moves me, especially when I can see their clear and sparkling faces light up my computer screen in real time! (Note: If this sounds like something you would love to cultivate with your friends or book group next year, here are the tools I use with groups to help you start your own support circle.)
- Integration. Out of a desire to take my friends and family on a journey, I finally did something I’d wanted to do for three years: make a “movie” of my 5-month trip around the world. The process of choosing images, and finding the best music to bring them to life took my own breath away! I had no idea how much I needed to integrate something from my past that had been so utterly transformational. In case you missed its world premiere, you can see the final product: my “love letter to the world” here.
- Milestones. I got to celebrate a big one this year with my beloved: our 35th wedding anniversary. Just the two of us around a fire in our back yard over take-out from one of our favorite restaurants and a bottle of champagne. Such simple pleasures. Doesn’t get better than that!
There are so many other “slow good” moments that I could include… like spending quality time with our daughter and future son-in-law after nearly a year of not seeing them… Decoding our new Instant Pot and making our first stew (pure heaven)… Reading Michael Singer’s life-changing book The Untethered Soul… Finding out what all the fuss is about with “The Queen’s Gambit” (wowowow)… Retracing the steps of my famous Cape Cod ancestors from the 1600s (that’s me communing with some passengers from the Mayflower)…
I could go on and on… What can I say? This year has been rich, deep and big.
How about you? What does your list of gifts and blessings from 2020 look like, and what does it feel like to write them down? Please share a comment or two below. We’d love to hear what moved you!
As we take a collective pause and deep breath, may you find comfort in knowing that this year has grown us. Whether we liked it or not, 2020 has improved our vision. May 2021 be a year of reaping the rewards of pulling back the curtain and letting our light shine bright.
Happy Clear New Year!
