This has been quite a year for all of us. You have the maskers and the anti-maskers, the serious lack of work for those in close contact with others (me!), the devastating fires and floods, and now another crisis from the other side of the world, that we are partially guilty of perpetuating.

I am wondering how high your anxiety level is about now! Yes, we are somewhat resilient and have found other ways to make a living in 2020 and beyond, but some things have permanently changed, not to go back.

"The water continually flowed and flowed yet it was always there.  It always stayed the same, and yet every moment it was new".  

This was the quote I wrote in my high school year book.  It comes from the book Sidhartha by Hermann Hesse, a well known writer in the seventies.  

This concept is one of the true anchoring ideas that I got from this last pandemic experience. Life felt upside down, yet every moment we were still here LIVING and getting by.

A few things I did in order to feel better:

• Stopped reading and watching the news every day. I carefully picked what news to listen to, and how long to watch/read.
• Started my own yoga practice daily. Having taught yoga for many years helped a lot, but now the practice was for me only. I found that I wanted to rest longer in poses, breathe more deeply, spend more time in the reclining poses like spinal twist (Supta Matseyandrasana).
• Slept more, and more consistency in the times I went to bed and woke up.
• Worked on creative things in my business, including creating a 30 Day Renewal Map video course, which you can find here on the shop tab!
• Did more meditation, particularly working on myself and bringing forward more empathy and compassion for myself and others.
• Started a Facebook Group; Healing Into Abundance Inner Circle, which you can join. As usual, this group goes quiet sometimes, and I get really involved at others. Like real life!
• Intentionally planned to read more about climate change, and thought and acted on simple things I can do now; keeping the environment center in my awareness.

So what about you? Is there a shift for the better that you can describe about how your year went? Were you super stressed about money? If so, how did you deal with it? Did you start baking bread? (Apparently people couldn’t even find yeast in the supermarkets because so many took up bread baking!) Did you prioritize your self care in a tangible and measurable way? Did you know anybody who had covid? I did; my sister got off easy, but another friend got it right in the beginning, and she was sick for months. My older cousin died in a nursing home of it, but there were other complications that made her more susceptible.

Plus I couldn’t visit my aging parents for a year and a half, which caused some disquiet.

But…things are starting to shift, internally and externally, and now there is hope for the new…2021 and beyond; what will you dream up?

Wishing you a lazy few weeks at the end of the summer to journal, dream, envision, and CREATE what comes next for you!

Diane Sussman is a Wellness Expert, and a Life Transition Coach. If you are feeling that you could use some guidance and accountability in bringing your dreams alive, go to the “Work with Diane” and let’s get on a call to see if we are a fit for my 3 or 6 month coaching programs! Or just email: [email protected]