My Theme For 2022
If you have ever practiced yoga, you might have found yourself moving into pigeon pose towards the end of class. For most, the pose can bring quite a bit of discomfort. We hold a lot in our hips, both physically and mentally. Breathe into it, your teacher might say. Relax the tension. Release. Let Go. Surrender. For me, it is in that rare moment of surrender that I find myself totally and completely, at peace.
The other thing about yoga that I love, is that the more you practice, the “better” you get. By better, I do mean physically (I can’t deny that I love that part) but also spiritually. It’s all about being consistent and making sure you show up. Even when you don’t want to. Especially when you don’t want to.
As I enter 2022, I am choosing my yearly theme to be: Show Up + Surrender.
In my theme selection process, I kept coming back to the need for consistency. I do well with having a routine, setting and achieving goals, and I sure love to knock things off the everyday to-do list and the big time bucket list. These past few years have been intense. A lot happened in the world, and a lot happened in my life - the most beautiful and challenging being having two children. My body, my priorities, my soul - everything has changed. And yet, I have not fully re-aligned. I don’t expect to find myself at the end of 2022 as the person I was before having children, and I would never want to. But, I do want to be the absolute best version of my current self. And with that in mind, I chose this theme.
To me, showing up means getting consistent. It means being incredibly intentional about what is important and how I want to spend my time. It means getting on that bike, or on the yoga mat, or picking up that book - even when I would rather be doing something else (read: mindlessly scrolling Instagram or watching something on Bravo). It means showing up for my kids, day in and day out, and making sure I am taking the best care of them and fully enjoying every moment with them. It means working on the goals that are most important to me right now. It means setting strong boundaries so that I can continue to show up. I’ll be enlisting a whole lot of tools to help with this one, which I’ll write more about soon. And I am confident that the joy will come in both the end result and the process.
Equally important for me, is surrender. The yoga metaphor feels so right. At times, I can be my own worst enemy. I have been working for years on combatting my perfectionism, and it continues to be a part of my life. And thus, I must continuously learn and practice the act of surrender. Letting go. A complete release after moving through the tension. I expect this will show up in myriad ways - from realizing that raising my second child will always be different from my first, to realizing that the best laid plans often can’t happen (we are still in a pandemic, after all), to letting go of my desire to control much of my life.
I am so ready to move into 2022. And it’s not because I expect it to be “better” than 2020 or 2021. Instead, it’s because I do see each year as an opportunity to re-align. To decide to show up. And to surrender to what will be.
I would absolutely love to hear what YOUR theme for the year will be. Sending love and light to all for the year ahead.
