What A Year It’s Been

What A Year It’s Been

You know the meme that shows the guy being excited that it’s 11:59 PM on 12/31/2020, only for it to turn into 13/01/2020 at 12:00 AM?

Well, that meme perfectly sums up my mood for 2021 so far.

I was hoping January would be less distracting and give me the opportunity to unwind from the last year. Election results were challenged but upheld. The vaccine arrived. While things won’t be back to normal in the next quarter, there was hope that we were going in the right direction.

Instead, the vaccine rollout in the US hit roadblocks. It was reported that 400,000+ Americans have died of Covid.

6 days into the new year, an insurrection happened.

And if that wasn’t enough for me to be preoccupied about, sudden changes in my personal life forced me to adjust quickly and put out fires as they come.

Like last year, I wanted to choose a theme to keep in mind throughout the year. However, I came across this radical idea of “rituals over resolutions”. Girl’s Night In, an e-mail newsletter I subscribe to, promoted this idea from Casper Ter Kuile’s book, “The Power of Ritual.”

The idea is that instead of adding new things to your life, choose to be more intentional about the activities you already do. Doing so can lead you to find deeper meaning and fulfillment in life. It can be anything from taking a daily walk around your neighborhood to reading your favorite book series all over again.

But each time you take your walk, make an effort to notice your surroundings in detail – the color of the leaves, the smell of the air, how you feel. When you read your favorite book, read passages repeatedly and consider if there are other interpretations that you could have missed in past readings.

I love this concept, so I bought Casper’s book to learn more. I’m still thinking about what rituals I want to focus on, but one small thing I am starting to do is opening and closing the blinds in my house every morning and evening. I love inviting natural light into my space in the morning, and “shutting off” the blinds when it becomes dark. It’s as if the house gets to close its eyes overnight as I do!

According to @ProgressBar202_, we are 11% done with 2021. Please let it get better from here. Is that so much to ask?