Spinning off of last year's post, I decided to write out the highlights from another turn around the sun. Maybe I'll keep this going through this decade, who knows. But it feels good to reflect on what I accomplished, who I helped and who helped me during these 12 months.
I've maintained keeping track of thoughts, deadlines, goals, and tasks in my planner and journals. If it weren't for these, I probably wouldn't have remembered half of the things that happened this year.
This year's subliminal theme was all about slowing down. Shortly after I turned 31, I began to pay attention to the physical aspects of my body - why I couldn't lift as much weight or do certain exercises how I used to. In the middle of conversations with my therapist around November of 2015, she told me to take it easy on myself. Stop forcing things to be as they were - in the literal form of exercise and expecting similar results, and metaphorically - allowing change to happen.
I stopped doing all the things that I had been doing for 6+ years, and just tuned in to sensations and emotions that came up when I sat still instead of feeling the need to "do" something to occupy time and space.
Little did I know what would come up when I just stopped resisting, everything.
The 6 best moments that happened this past year were:
Realizing and knowing my worth
Volunteering with Holistic Youth Foundation and Y.E.S.
Hiring a physical therapist
Meditating. Consistently. (as of this post, I'm on day 67. Thanks Headspace!)
Creating #tanthemat
Becoming an auntie (again)!
Major takeaways from each:
There are a handful of people that truly know what I've managed to overcome throughout the years. I'm stubborn and often times hard-headed, but I know what I'm capable of accomplishing and creating. These same people helped me remind myself how dope I am :) I took another leap, and am now in complete creation mode - working on projects that will make our world a better place to live.
Being able to share my skills and donate my time to two local organizations that are literally changing and helping lives of our future generation, has been a tremendous honor. Focus on our youth - they absorb everything and we have every resource and tool to help them succeed.
Slowing down also meant feeling - everything. I stopped CrossFitting religiously, actually, entirely. Protecting my body from more physical damage has been my main goal, and working with a physical therapist has proven to be life-changing. Aside from the physical benefits of gaining a bit more mobility, I've managed to jump into a rabbit hole of connecting chiropractic care to mental health. Everything (almost) makes sense now :)
Yoga, mindfulness and meditation are all buzz words now. The self help industry is an $11 billion - yes billion - dollar industry. In the U.S. it feels like everyone is trying to "find happiness" in the midst of what seems like a complete clusterf*ck of ideas, people and policies. However, what has helped me reclaim my sanity and create work from love instead of fear, has been my consistent meditation practice. When in doubt, focus on your breath.
With that said, clearing my mind allows for space to create. It took me over a year to announce and manifest #tanthemat into something tangible, and here we are. What felt like a small project at the beginning, manifested into something completely different than what I expected, and I have a network of beautiful humans over the world that are not only inspiring me, but are healing communities through their work.
#somanybabies. 2-3 years ago, four of my closest cousins/brothers/sisters got married. These same people popped out babies this year. The world is so much better now that there is a generation of women [smile] with roots from Haiti, India, Cuba and Singapore. #diversitymatters. I'm incredibly grateful to be an aunt and role model for them!
32. I welcome you with open arms. It's my magic year - let's do this.