January 2021

While we may have bid 2020 a firm ‘adieu’, we have not been able to say goodbye to all that it has brought us. We are still very much in the midst of a LOT of challenging things, but what is different is our sense of time about it all. Last year was ‘crisis management’ in its absolute clearest sense, and while that still is the case, we do have a sense of things transitioning into new phases this upcoming year (albeit later into 2021 than we might like). It’s unclear what a new phase will look like, to be sure, but 2021 WILL see some changes and movement forward, however slow and painstaking it might be.

My point is, 2021 will be less of a limbo state than was 2020. 

Not all the days are going to look the same - there will be more of a reason to look at our calendars. And so what this means to me, is that this time of isolation, of less distraction and external focus, is now limited - and so I am able to look at this time with less hopelessness and more from a wider perspective.  And so my questions are:

Now that we know that this very challenging time will actually not be with us forever,
what will we do with what we have left?
Is it possible that we can focus on what this time of isolation and limitation is actually good for?
Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, can we focus on what we can actually do better NOW? 

Last year it was much more difficult to ask these questions. Last year was absolutely overwhelming. And while it still is, there is some sense of forward motion out of this crisis. So, while last year it may have been unthinkable to entertain the idea of ‘taking advantage’ of this time of quarantine, in 2021 it might not be so impossible. 

Indeed, some of you may have already been ‘taking advantage’ by reading those books you always wanted to read, or by learning a new skill, or by just getting more comfortable with the company of your own self, and that’s wonderful, but for those who found everything about 2020 to be a s*%#show, perhaps, as we ring in the new year, we can ring in a new energy and a new perspective on how to live in this time. 

I propose that we frame this year as a time to grow. I propose that we look at the calendar, and circle the end of 2021 as our target date to at least dip our toes into some of the things we have been wanting to do for years, or perhaps decades, that these circumstances are affording us. What are some of the things that we CAN do this year? What is this time of constraint perfect for? 

Now, in no way do I mean to dismiss the suffering that has happened, and that is yet to happen. In fact, I mean just the opposite. Some of us, many of us, are only able to focus on keeping our heads afloat. But many of us have some time, however small, and some space in our mind and imagination, to be able to grow more into the person that we truly are. And if we do have that time and space, I suggest that we use it, in honour of those who don’t have that luxury. 

Each day, for the month of January, I will be sharing on social media a short and sweet self care practice - something that is very do-able in the everyday. I hope some of the things resonate with you, and I hope that it will inspire you to find your own favourite things that you are able to initiate, cultivate, and keep with you for the long term, so that your days can be more lovely, and satisfying to YOU. 

The first ‘Self Care Morsel’, as I will be calling them, is simply a call to daydream - about the person you want to be at the end of 2021, and about how you want to feel. Use this as an aspiration, inspiring you to discover what things you want to add, or subtract, into your life, and enjoy the process completely. Let this be a time to listen to your heartfelt desires - of who you truly are, and of how you long to feel - and then let that guide your practice, always with the utmost respect and kindness toward yourself. 

Wishing you very well. Take good care. 

All photos: Banff National Park, Canada, taken by me :)