Reflections from a midlife journey
Experience desired
I cannot count the times over the years that I have unconsciously tried to control someone else’s experience, always with the best of intentions and always at the expense of my own experience. Making sure things were “just so” for others meant I put my own experience on the back burner. Worse, that meant others didn’t get to experience me—the authentic me—because I was too busy tending to their experience.
Embracing the new year
The holidays were quiet for me, a gift in itself. It gave me time to reflect on the year that was ending—what did and didn’t work for me, the joys and dissatisfactions of my life right now, and what I want to let go of and what I want to let in in 2018. I also went back and read my new year’s post from last year to see how my year tracked with my intentions. Connect more deeply with myself. Yes. Continue letting go. Yes. Focus on delight and things that fill me up. Mmm … yes and no.
Filling up
For the past couple of years, rather than make resolutions, I have chosen a word to frame my new year. A word that evokes a feeling I want more of in my life. This year's word is like an old friend with whom I've reconnected. For 2017, it's all about filling up.