Welcome to 2022! I know. I know. It’s scary after the last few years to be even somewhat hopeful as the new year begins. You’re afraid of being blindsided, right? I totally get that!
Last year, I was SO hopeful on New Year’s Day. I wanted 2020 to end. I had had enough of ALL of it - politics, pandemic, pandemonium. I was ready to let it go + held great visions for the new year. Fresh starts.
Just wait until you hear how my year started…
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SHATTERED DREAMS
I know that logically it doesn’t make sense to give precedence to one particular day. I mean, January 1 is a day like any other. In truth, we can start a ‘new year’ anytime we want to.
Still, there’s something about beginning a new year. Breaking out a new calendar + having that sense that you can ‘begin again’.
Hope. Opportunity. Letting go. Beginning.
That was how I came into 2021. I remember sitting on my balcony watching the sunrise, drinking a cup of coffee + welcoming the first day of the year. After the roller-coaster ride of 2020, I was feeling a sense of relief + hope that the new year would be a fresh start. I remember asking 2021 to pour sunshine into my cup.
After that magical moment in the early hours, my husband + I cranked up some good music + did a thorough top-to-bottom cleaning of our apartment. We scrubbed every corner + dusted off every spec of 2020. It felt SO good knowing we were starting the year off fresh + clean.
As we put that last piece of furniture back in place ready to relax + reward ourselves, the alarm system went off telling us to evacuate immediately + do not use the elevator. So we trekked down the 15 flights of stairs to find out what was going on.
To make a long story short, it was a flood. When we left our apartment, it was fine, but within the hour, fire trucks + firefighters were everywhere. Our unit was flooded + our first day of 2021 went from unbridled hope to total disappointment.
So much for a beautiful start to 2021!
Within days, we were packed up + moved to a different apartment where we spent the first four months of the year. It wasn’t in our plans for the year. That’s for sure. Neither was the second flood that happened in mid-September! (Yeah, you read that right!)
Boy, talk about fresh starts and new beginnings. We have had our share in 2021 - including new flooring, TWICE!
FRESH STARTS
So, yes - I get it. It’s scary to let yourself think that things could be better. It’s so disappointing when it doesn’t work out. And the last few years have been such a roller coaster of emotions.
On top of that, we have all had our share of New Year’s Resolutions + pressing the ‘reset’ button only to have life blindside us with something that sends us right back to our corner.
If we are not careful, it’s easy to get jaded - to stop dreaming.
The older we get, the more we avoid things that bring the potential of disappointment or failure. But, in fact, these are the very areas that bring growth, excitement + meaning to our lives. It’s where all learning occurs. These are actually the areas we should be diving into at our age. Think about it. If you are not growing, you’re aging.
I’M FEELING VERY ‘22. ARE YOU?
After the last few years, it would be easy for us to harden our hearts + be wary of a new year beginning. To worry about what lies ahead. To constantly be waiting for the next shoe to drop.
But, that’s only one side of the equation. On the other side? Growth. Adventure. Play. And yes, there will be some pain + disappointment wrapped up in that, I’m sure, but that’s what reminds us to savor the joyful moments.
Lately, I have been seeing the phrase “I don’t know about YOU, but I’m feeling very ‘22.” I can see why this is the perfect phrase for 2022. (Thank you Taylor Swift!)
I don’t even know if I remember being 22! Do you?
Hmmm. I was fresh out of college, living in Japan. I was excited about starting my adult life. But I didn’t know what I wanted to be or even where I wanted to be. I was feeling lost + I couldn’t find that special someone to share life with.
Yep, that was 22 - happy, free, confused + lonely all at the same time.
We're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way
It's miserable and magical.
(Taylor Swift)
Fast forward two years. I had found the love of my life. We were married. And, baby #1 was on her way. Again, not something I had necessarily planned for my life, but that ‘confused + lonely’ phase of life didn’t last long in the scheme of things.
Transitions are both miserable + magical. And, I don’t care WHO you are, you are living in full-on transition right now. You can’t be alive on this Earth right now without being in transition. It is both miserable + magical.
There is room for both of these emotions at the same time. If you remember being 22, you just might remember the beauty of that feeling + how it formed who you are today.
And, just how quickly it went by.
So, here we are at the precipice of a new year + the crux of transition. The perfect place to set a new intention + dream a new dream. To write our next chapter. To begin again. And to know - as the song continues:
Tonight's the night when we forget about the heartbreaks
It's time.
(Taylor Swift)
You’re never too old to start again.
YOUR MISSION:
Can you remember where you were at 22? Happy? Free? Confused? Lonely? Can you see some overlaps in how you feel in 2022? I’d LOVE to hear about them. Click + leave a comment. (And, if for any reason the ‘Leave a Comment’ button doesn’t work for you - please let me know!)
RESOURCES:
LISTEN: 22 | Taylor Swift
READ: You are Never Too Old to Set Another Goal or Dream a New Dream | Keep Thinking Big
READ: You are Never Too Old to Set Another Goal | LifeHack
WATCH: It's never too late | Dilys Price OBE | TEDxCardiff
READ: Dilys Price: World's oldest female skydiver | BBC News
WATCH: You are never too old to dream | Iza Moczarna-Pasiek | TEDxWroclaw
IN SUMMARY:
I hope this gives you a little LIFT as you begin your new year. There has never been a better time to create + dream. I wish you health + happiness as the new year begins, but even more so, I wish you adventure + growth as you play with life + find ways to breathe through the transitions as they continue to unfold this year. I can’t wait to see what you create in your corner of the world. It all starts with a dream. Right here.
See you next week?
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The "leave a comment" button worked for me this time! This was a great article -- and a reminder of how things shrink in the scheme of everything. Twenty-two was a happy time for me. We had returned to the midwest after getting married & living in the SF Bay Area for almost 3 years. We bought our own home, I landed a job the first day I looked, and we settled in ready to start a family. Those times were scary, challenging, and wonderful all at the same time. And in the big scheme of things, it all worked out. As I look at 2022, I truly want to be the best person I can be and although I'm getting some challenges that make that seem impossible . . . I know it IS possible and know it WILL all work out. Thank you for the resources you shared -- as always, LYFT is helpful and perfectly timed.