I’ve been sitting here trying to write a New Year’s post, and thinking about what I’ve learned this year. The past couple of years, actually, have highlighted that every one of us faces mental health obstacles sometimes.
I’ve heard that 2022 is the year of the Heart, and if that’s true, then we deserve to love ourselves and accept each other, and the planet as a whole.
Offering ourselves love and compassion will help us get through difficult times. Some people have a hard time with self-compassion. Gratitude can help us get to a place of love for self and others. Gratitude helps shift our perspective, and leads to joy, to love, and to peace.
We will all face tough times. I’ve gotten into misunderstandings with family or friends, or got a bad grade on a test I studied for, or felt like I have failed in something I have worked hard to accomplish.
Practicing gratitude has taught me to appreciate the little things in life a little bit more, and realize that the little things may not be so little after all. My sister can annoy me when she constantly wants to play, but I remind myself that her smile lights up a room. My mom can annoy me when she is telling me to stand up straight, but I remind myself that she has my best interest at heart. Something as simple as eating a favorite kind of sandwich you haven’t eaten in a long time, or visiting a special place you haven’t been to in awhile, can bring you moments of happiness and gratitude. I am grateful every day for another day.
Maybe we should all think about what we can let go of and what we can welcome that would serve us well, in both our mental and physical health, so that we can be happier and healthier. Here are some things to consider:
Things to release from 2021: Doubting your worth, past mistakes, trying to please everyone, people that don’t appreciate you or return love and kindness.
Things to embrace in 2022: Your self-worth, accepting yourself for the wonderful human you are, forgiveness and kindness from others, gratitude, healing and unconditional love.
Each of us is on our own journey, so let’s help each other to create inner-peace and peace for the world, by taking a breath before we react, by being supportive instead of defensive, and by listening instead of talking.
Shelly Tyglieski had a great quote, “Happy New Now!” Every minute is another opportunity. Of course, thinking well is important, and I still like to teach kids about optimism and how our minds can affect our lives, but at the same time, we are also allowed to feel what we feel, and this year, we’ve all been feeling a lot!
As my grandpa used to say, getting to neutral (which he defined as that space somewhere between negative and positive, and which I define as finding balance) is something that we can achieve with practice. And once my definition of mindfulness evolved to understand this, it has definitely helped my mental health.
Sometimes, even I need to be reminded that every moment is a new moment to begin again, whether it’s New Years Eve or not. Allow yourself to feel what you feel, deal with it mindfully, heal with it, and begin again.
The New Year, The New Now is what we make of it. My great-grandpa always loved “The Secret,” which he fully believed in, and according to The Secret, we can create whatever we focus on. So, what do you want to create right now?
#Gratitude #Balance #Kindness #Compassion #Wellness