Happy 2021 to our SD ACEs Community! Like every year, 2020 was full of ups and downs but unlike prior years 2020 will certainly be defined by the seemingly unrelenting procession of major national stressors including the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, the COVID 19 Pandemic, an unprecedented divisiveness in politics.
There was so much collective trauma in 2020 that the existence of MURDER HORNETS is a forgotten footnote – Yikes!
I think it is safe to say we were all ready to move into 2021 and looking for a fresh start, a reset, a return to whatever our new normal is. Six days in, we got a riot at the Capitol Building in D.C. and new calls for presidential impeachment. I guess 2021 didn’t get the memo…
Clearly, we can’t control national politics and we can’t single handedly stop a worldwide pandemic, but what can we do? Now is a great time to refocus on your self-care. Now, maybe more than ever, we need to check in with ourselves and spend some time focusing and reflecting on our needs, wants, and desires.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves.” Change yourself and you change the world.
I recently read an article by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times, “Why Self-Care Isn’t Selfish.” Among other helpful ideas, she suggests picking a word of the year. My word for 2020 was “emerge” and as I reflect on last year, I realize just how significant it was in guiding some of my bravest and wisest decisions, including the decision to pursue my passion for prevention work with Children’s Home Society of South Dakota. Meditating on my word of year and using it as a guide for decision making helped me to move past my fear of change, my doubt in my skills and abilities, and instead focus on whether this decision will be a step closer to connecting to my true self and living authentically.
In hindsight, 2020 was a pivotal year for me personally and a big part of that is because I had set an intention at the beginning of the year. Emerge. It served as a reminder of my goals and values and served as lighthouse when fear, doubt and worry tried to sink me.
Did you have a word of the year for 2020? How did it guide you in big and small ways?
If you are inspired to choose a word for 2021, drop a comment or reply and tell us what it is and why.
Comments (0)