As I walked the beach looking for treasures, I pondered the last year. What do I want to take forward with me? What do I want to leave behind?

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. ⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I found there are many aspects of the last year I want to take with me into the next year. I learned so much about my body and how it works. I need the right food, appropriate exercise and enough sleep. I experienced first hand the difference these simple changes make in my overall wellbeing. I want to take what I have learned with me into the new year and expand on it.

I learned how to speak. That sounds odd, especially to those who have heard me speak. It seems I knew how to do that prior to the last year. But I am not good at speaking up for myself. I am learning how to state my preferences and finding that those closest to me are actually okay with me speaking up. What an amazing discovery!

I also discovered a few changes I want to make in the coming year. Last year I realized my joy is often situational. It depended on where I was and if I was doing what I thought I should be doing to keep others happy. Which, let me tell you, is impossible to do. I want to practice joy regardless of where I might find myself. I give myself permission to enjoy whatever I am doing wherever I find myself.

I also found I spent too much time with various types of media. It might be social media one day and TV the next, but too many minutes have ticked away while I am lost in the bowels of some type of media. I want to be more aware of mindless activity next year and recover some of the lost time so I can invest it in meaningful, life giving ways.

What are you discovering as you look back over 2021 from this liminal space of change?