When I was a kid, I remember I’m more excited during Christmas than welcoming New Year. Now I’m an adult, I’m looking forward to turning a new leaf than spending time thinking about gifts and all this Yuletide preparation.
Isn’t it nice to have a clean slate? Start over and anticipate greater things? Restart with a hope of better tomorrow? However, optimism comes with uncertainty.
We don’t know what will happen along the way, we can be optimistic, but you can’t foreshadow loss or happiness.
There will be times you are walking on dead leaves waiting for collection. There will be times you are walking towards the golden pot at the end of the rainbow. No matter how prepared you are, anything can happen.
This year taught me a lot, but the most important lesson is to focus on substituting feelings of anxiety with awareness of gratitude for everything that surrounds me. When I think about this year and the journey I’ve been on, I can’t help but feel torn with the good and the bad, and everything that came in between.
But I’m always thankful, especially for the simple things: My little dog waking me up every single morning, working with supportive clients, creating my own home, seeing my sister and father almost every week, friends who always reach out, building my business, and the daily sunset and sunrise that take my breath away.
There are a lot of things to be grateful, most importantly the simple things we often take for granted.
Here’s to making 2019 full of optimism and gratitude.
