It’s so hard to believe, but being June, it means the year is basically about half over. Obviously, this has been a WEIRD (oh, so very weird) year, but, I guess I don’t think we necessarily have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Surely there must be some good things we can still accomplish, experience or succeed in this year, despite a global pandemic and worldwide unrest. At the very least, personal growth doesn’t need to stop just because the world doesn’t look the same as it used to.
On December 31, 2019, before I had started this blog, I wrote a little post on my personal Facebook page sharing some deep thoughts as 2019 ended and 2020 was about to begin. I guess you could call it a “precursor” to my blog. I felt a little uncomfortable opening up in this way on my personal FB page, so maybe this actually helped nudge me in the direction of deciding to start this blog, so I could have a place to more freely express myself.
Anyway, I had a brief experience that morning that inspired me and helped me narrow my focus a bit for how I wanted to approach the new year. This is what I wrote:
“This morning I stopped to grab some breakfast by myself as a little treat and was just sitting eating and updating my 2020 calendar and doing a little reflecting on the past year and the year to come. I was jotting down a few “goals” (yes, I am the “New Year’s Resolution type”) and pondering what general theme or mood I hoped would dictate this next year for me.
An older man across from me caught my eye. He was sitting there by himself, with a cup of coffee, sipping it and looking out the window. He wasn’t scrolling Facebook, or reading the newspaper, or making a grocery list… he was just enjoying his coffee. That’s it.
It struck me instantly that I want more of THAT this year. The word “intentionality” ran through my mind. I want 2020 to be a year of living more intentionally, making choices that reflect my values and spending time in ways that matter to me. Doing things that bring me joy and peace and happiness more often than not, instead of filling my time with things I “have to” do.
I’d like to just pay more attention to my own daily life! To stop being distracted by emails and texts and to do lists and pay closer attention when my boys are telling me about their day at school. I know we are all busy and I don’t expect that to change, but there’s always time for what really matters, if we are intentional about what we choose to fill our lives with.
I’m glad I saw that man sitting there sipping that coffee- I hope I can remember that image throughout the year and use it as a guiding force toward a more intentional life. Those are my deep thoughts for this New Year’s Eve!! 😊 Happy New Year all!”
So, here we are on June 12, 2020. How am I doing? How “intentionally” am I living? Was this just a nice sounding mini-essay, posted on Facebook and then forgotten?
The truth is, I think….I’m doing overall okay, but could be doing better!
In a way, when I re-read this, it almost seems like a bit of an eerie prediction for what was to come just a couple months later. Especially the part about wanting to spend more time doing things that bring me “happiness” and less time doing things I “have” to do, to “stop being distracted by emails and texts and to do lists” and wanting to spend more time in “ways that matter to me”. I would argue that COVID-19 sort of forced some of this upon us all!
However, in many ways I’m also not sure I’ve really taken enough action on it either.
I’ve been mulling this over a bit during the last couple of days, and I’m going to spend a few minutes today organizing my thoughts on it on paper. I’ll check back in tomorrow! I believe that in some areas of my life I have definitely been living more intentionally, while in others I can still use a LOT of work. To be continued…. 😊
Have a fantastic Friday!
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| Later that day, December 31, 2019…back when we were all so optimistic about the exciting new year, 2020!!! Haha! |
Daily Gratitude:
Today I am grateful for my bed. I was SUPER tired last night for some reason, and it felt just so amazing to sink into my bed at the end of the night. I’m grateful that I have a comfortable bed to sleep in and a mattress, sheets and pillow that I all really like!
GRATEFUL KAE 
I feel the same way. I often remind myself to focus on the moment and cut out distractions. But the current state working from home like crazy isn't totally possible to separate work and life unfortunately. I've done digital detox which felt great but practically not realistic as it's part of my work to be connecting with colleagues. But I'm trying too, at least after dinner, I try to put phone away and focus on reading and quiet time with my girls. Being present is important, and somehow blogging helps because it forces me to pause and reflect what was special about another ordinary quarantine life.
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I think COVID is really forcing us to examine what we really want our lives to look like since it forced us to take a very grand pause. I know many of my friends are enjoying the slower pace of life and less-hectic schedule. I think we sometimes feel 'trapped' by our schedule and like we need to keep doing what we are doing because we've committed to it, but you can always change your mind and re-examine your priorities! We just haven't really been forced to do that before!
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