Page 1 of 365

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”  –Maya Angelou

I lived a dozen different lives in 2016. It was a year that I eagerly anticipated and just as readily said goodbye to. There was a moment just before Christmas that I reflected back on the last year of my life and I said to myself that I couldn’t wait to start over. “It’s been a really bad year,” I thought. I’ve never been one to rush into a new year with negative thoughts from the one before. But in that moment I thought about the lives I lived in this last year. I thought about all that I have lost and all that I have endured. I thought about the hundreds of different emotions that I have felt; hopeful only to be discouraged, disengaged, bitterly sad and full of grief. Those emotions were well warranted in light of all that led up to them, but I was losing sight of all that was gained and all that was good.  

I’ve never strode into January with high hopes and big dreams. I’ve always just wanted to go into each New Year with a happy heart, curious to see what the year would bring. Last January my husband and I made the decision to do our very best to be fully present and grateful for the joy that surrounded us. We kind of lost ourselves for a while after experiencing much disappointment and tragedy, so we used the New Year as a way to start over, and for the first couple of months we did. No matter what obstacles stood in our way I remained positive, shedding light on the rest of the world in the meantime. But then things just kept going wrong. With each new, bigger obstacle, I lost sight of all the great things that were right in front of me. It was like tunnel vision. I no longer had the ability to look at the bigger picture. Do you know what I mean?

I fought with myself a lot. I’d try and reel myself back in; I wrote, I ran and I surrounded myself only with positive people. But the list of disappointments just kept growing and I often ran through that list in my head. It’s so easy to get caught up in a negative mind during a rough season. But if there is one thing that I have learned in the last two years of my life, it’s that out of the worst seasons and paths of our lives, the hopeless, the desperate and the agonizing days, goodness can grow and yield a great hope.

As I reflect back on the last year of my life I realize that out of those painful seasons, new and bright seasons ushered in that led the way for hope again. 2016 was hard. But in this last year I learned some of the biggest lessons of my life while earning new titles. I have become a business owner, an inspirational speaker, a blog writer and a college graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. The worst seasons of my life have pushed me to do better. To be better. I have learned that there is nothing more important in life than love. I have learned who matters and have become intolerant to those who do not value me or that bring negativity to my life. I have learned that small stuff is not worth the restless night of sleep and that tomorrow is never promised. 2016 gave us much to bare but it gave me much to learn. Perceiving my New Year this way, looking both backward and forward, forces me to take a look at the entire picture; to look at the old year and the new one not as distinct entities that must be judged against each other, but as interwoven pieces of a balanced continuum that have and will continue to shape who I am. So this year, we aren’t starting over. I’m not attempting to reinvent myself. I choose live from experience and wake up each day with a happy and full heart. I choose to be mindful of all that surrounds me, good and bad. We only get this one life to live so it’s only up to me to make it great in every way that I can.

Cheers friends, and Happy New Year! May you all lead the life you love this year, and every year.