"Betwixmas"

This is that listless time between Christmas and New Years. We are eating left overs and not really knowing what day it is, or perhaps even caring. It is a strange time.

We will move through this time though, and gain more clarity. Life will begin again in another year, 2021. Now, 2020 has been super challenging in more ways that I care to enumerate! I am visioning 2021, the New Year, as a clean slate. A time to begin anew, with kindness, joy and peace. Yes, peace. Something I have been longing for along with hugs, for a very long time.

I find myself asking, was 2020 only one year? Really? Yes, it was! But, it is coming to an end with the opportunity to seize unlimited opportunities and create a new year that we want to live in. Yes we will still be living with masks for a while. However, there is so much more to living, so many more opportunities and experiences to have. Attitude. Our attitude will make all the difference.

So, in the “Betwixmas” time I am working on visioning what I want my new year to be. I am working on my attitude, and growing gratitude, gentleness and joy. I know that my new year will include more time exercising, more time outside, more time being creative and expressing in many ways. It will include more time with those I love, in one way or another, and letting them know how dear they are to me.

2020, while extremely challenging, has taught me so many valuable lessons. I judge less. I am more patient. I feel time in a very different way. I savor beauty more. I have learned without a doubt what is important and what isn’t. I know it is the small things that are really the big things. I have cultivated kindness. I have learned that I need much less to not only survive, but to thrive. I feel a deeper connection to Mother Earth and her rhythms, bold and subtle. I love more. I imagine and dream more. I feel more. I am learning to love myself more. I have cried more. Those are the things that I am pondering during this in between time while looking forward to the new year with a different attitude than I have ever had before. After all, I have never lived through a year like this one before!

2020 was a life changing year in many ways and for many people. I mourn for the losses that many have endured; the pain; the suffering; the ugliness and unkindness. Yet, I know that we can leave some of that behind as we move forward. I hold those who suffering from loss or illness, in love and light. I do not minimize the heartache and pain suffered this year and the dedication and diligence of first responders and all care givers.

I believe that we can create a better world, a better year, one person at a time. Let’s all strive mightily toward that end and be the light. Let’s shine.

Enjoy this from one of my favorite artists of all time, Odetta.