2023 Reflections

As many of you know, 2023 did not pan out as per the vision board I created 12 months ago. Navigating grief, loss, and despair was not what I had manifested or planned for myself. Despite facing the hardest year of my life, I saw tremendous beauty and felt the purest form of love possible. Before I can even begin to think about 2024, I know I need to still process 2023. To help myself do that, I  have started journaling some of my learnings.

By sharing them, my hope is this: my despair and subsequent learnings may touch even just one of my readers.

2023 lessons, in no particular order (and I cannot promise I won't add more later)

• Stop apologizing. Stop apologizing. Stop Apologizing. This includes apologizing for crying, for asking for what you think you need, for taking time for yourself, and for being selfish in your grief journey. 

• Grief is a tricky little beast to dance with and sometimes she will ask you to dance when you least expect it. 

• You’ve been lied to: time does not heal all wounds. 

• Love really does make a hard time just a little bit easier. 

• Give grace freely and openly - no one is perfect. 

• Let people disappoint you - you will learn about how you want to show up for others based on how people don’t show up for you. 

• Let people surprise you.

• If you look, there can be beauty found even in the darkest of times.

• Loving people can hurt, but it’s always worth it.

• Depression and grief are not the same kind of sadness.

• I am a lot kinder than I thought I was.

• Get a good therapist (we love you, Pam!).

• I can run, like, really far. 

• Be intentional about who you let have a spot in your corner. 

• The most important gift you can offer someone who is grieving is simply holding space for their grief; do not put their grief down. 

• People don’t talk about death and dying enough.

• Seriously (and this is a big one) do not wait to have the hard/vulnerable conversations with the people you love. 

Stay kind and a stay little weird.