#DailyCalm | Reflect on the past year. Express gratitude for gifts this year has brought and honor the losses in your life.
This is the message that came from calm.com folks today. I love this website. They are full of ways to increase awareness of living in the moment, of appreciating what one already has, of remembering to be mindful in general. I especially like their “sleep stories” and their guided meditations –which I still don’t do regularly or well, but they keep me trying!
For most of this year, they have been sending me a daily reminder like the one above. Taking a few moments to reflect on this particular year is harder than others. Who wants to repeat a lot of what’s happened?
But when I do look back, I see these silver linings that I didn’t expect. They are not just daily ones, either. Here is the top ten list I find for 2020:
- Enjoying unexpected bonus time with young adults (including Spanish daughter #3) who “should” have been off doing other things.
- Exploring new places closer to home.
- Learning all about everyone’s political viewpoints—and figuring out how to disagree and still live together.
- Having everyone be a part of Berner puppy Aspen’s first year.
- Deep weeding, cleaning, clearing out and putting things in order!
- Living at a slower pace.
- Engaging our creative sides.
- Prioritizing what is really important, like a COVID-safe trip to Illinois in June.
- Finding new ways to socialize with friends. (How many hikes and walks did you take this past year?)
- Learning to look for silver linings in everything, every day. (And re-learning that lesson many times!)
As we round out this tumultuous year, I hope that you, too, have found some silver linings that have strengthened you in unexpected ways!