Breathing in 2021

There are meaningful, lyrical pieces written about hope, renewal and vaccination in the new year. This is not one of them. I do feel hopeful – and impressed, yay scientists! – with the covid vaccine rolling out (shooting out? injecting out?) already. But I don’t feel able to offer inspiration to you, lovely readers, because we’re all experiencing this pandemic so differently. You may have extra time or far less, financial strain or more money in your pocket, gratitude for relationships or strife or loneliness, good health or a sore nose from all the swabs you’ve had. You may cry each day or savour the chance to live in pajamas, or both. I’ve struggled and found new joys, and had deep lows and guilty highs (and bought lots of new pajamas).

One thing I’m sure of is that we’re all living with uncertainty. There’s shaky ground beneath us and fog clouding the path ahead, so my main intention for 2021 is to be kind and continue to cut everyone some slack.

Peering Ahead on the Foggy Path

It’s my last year at my full-time job, so I’ll be an odd combination of frenzied, excited, impatient, and reflective while maybe saying goodbyes over zoom.

I’ll do 30 days of Yoga with Adriene again in January because I enjoyed last January’s (which was prophetically called “Home”). This year the theme is Breath and that seems like an attainable goal. I was going to say it shouldn’t be hard to commit to breathe for 30 consecutive days, but I guess that depends on avoiding covid, doesn’t it? I’ll do my best to avoid the cooties and I’ll show up on my mat each day, hopefully breathing well.

What else? I will ramp up my freelance work in preparation for the following year, but my primary responsibility is to my day job, so we’ll see what time and energy I have left over. I’m updating my Brand (it feels capitalized, still too stuffy, I’m working on relaxing it) and I am SO enjoying redoing my documents and resources. Who loves copy editing this much? I do.

I have only two courses left in my creative writing certificate program and my novel is coming along well, so those will scratch my writing itch. 

I’ll take more chunks of time offline and off screens because my soul feels such calm when I go analog for hours or days.

As always, I’ll spend a lot of time outdoors and enjoy exercise outside and in (when my son’s at university, his room’s our dance and workout studio … shhhh … we love it).

At dawn of Love, at dawn of Life, At dawn of Peace that follows Strife, At dawn of all we long for so. The sun is rising, let us go.

Louise Chandler Moulton

Happiness in the New Year

The days are getting longer, I have cats and kids for cuddles, and friends and neighbours for occasional (distanced, masked, outdoor) visits. A bit of Breath, lots of sunrise hikes, curbside pickup at the local library and restaurants, and a thirty-year career to wrap up, I’ll be good. I hope you are too. Take care, everyone, I wish you all the best.