It is now officially the second week of the New Year. As we settle in for the exciting road that extends ahead, many of us have been or will be reflecting on the holiday season that passed. The social gatherings with family and friends took us out of our regular routine and stirred life up a bit, wouldn't you agree? This is a blessing. Stirring things up helps us come to new realizations about ourselves and our relationships. It causes us to reflect on actions, decisions, behaviors, and habits that we have displayed in the recent past and view them in a new light with a bit of distance or perhaps from the vantage point of one of those people we ran into at one of those holiday events. Do not let these new insights get pushed aside in a mad dash into 2011. Instead weigh their truth and consider making changes. For many of us, these realizations will be so powerful they will propel us into change without even realizing it.
I went to a neighborhood holiday party just before the New Year. My husband and I had been invited by the woman who lives next door to us. I hadn't seen her in months, but my husband who is very social in the community runs into her frequently. At her party, I met two other women who live on my street that I had never met before. One of the women asked me how long we had lived in our house and I told her, "since 1989." "Me too", she said, "Isn't it weird that I've never met you. I see your husband all of the time though!" This interaction may seem meaningless to you, however I could not stop thinking about it. How was it that I had never met this woman before, after living on the same street for more than 20 years! What was different about the way I conducted my life versus how my husband, who was the life of the party, conducted his? After some consideration, I discovered why this interaction made me feel as uncomfortable as it did. It was a metaphor for the way I was choosing to live. I work out of a home office in my back yard. I park my car in the garage below my home office. I virtually never step out through the front door. While my husband parks out front, takes frequent walks to the coffee shop on our corner and goes to the same gym as half the neighborhood. He also talks to anyone who will listen to him, something I adore about him. While I was hiding in the backyard, he was living fearlessly out in the front. My fear of visibility was keeping me from meeting the interesting and good-humored people in my community. I wondered what else it was keeping me from.
So, this is something I am resolved to changing. I am no longer going to hide in the backyard. I am going to live out front, like my husband. One of the first steps toward that end will be hosting a neighborhood party of my own. I implore you all to reflect on the holiday season and the year that passed. What events or series of events stand out to you? Think about why they are at the forefront of your mind. Consider what meaning they have in the overall picture of your life. Are there any changes that you can make to improve the quality of your life based on your realizations? It is my hope for you that you discover and enact meaningful resolutions and change in 2011. Change may be the hardest thing for us to do, but we all can attest to how rewarding it eventually proves to be.
My sincere best wishes for a fruitful, happy, and fulfilling 2011!
