At the beginning of a new year many people make goals and set intentions for the following 12 months, and until recently I hadn’t really thought about the difference between them. Goals are something to work towards. You see something in the future and you make a goal to work towards having it. It also implies you don’t have what you want yet which implies distance. Setting intentions is as if you already have something, and being receptive to allowing it to come.

I’m choosing my life story of 2020 to reflect my second perspective; one of purpose and growth. Moving forward and not looking back. Fighting the dark forces that try to pull me down. I’m standing up for the kindness, and light people are sharing, that’s part of a bigger love story. A love story that weaves into every corner of the world. You are a beautiful soul with a beautiful story.

The good news is we now have the advantage of experience and time. We’re learning how to navigate and adjust to a new normal.

The question to myself, you and the world at large is, “Are you ready for today?” If today is really all that matters, how do you want to show up? How do you want to show up for yourself and how do you want to show up for others if today was all you had? What a powerful thought.

It’s the judge within our being that beats us up and fills our head with negative thoughts, and bullies us into self-sabotaging our decisions and choices. She’s also a pro at making us feel inferior to others. A confident and smart women can go from ten to zero in an instant if you let the inner mean girl win.

What’s one action you can take before the end of the year that gets you closer to a dream? It can be a big ol’ leap or just a wee baby step. Just something to cause a spark; a spark you’ve been rolling around in that noggin of yours and are afraid to light. Now is the time! Be brave, be bold and say, “Yes” to you! Yes to your life!

Did you know that the Universe is always working on our behalf? It’s true! We often think we are alone on the journey doing all the heavy work, but the Universe is placing moments, people, opportunities or events in our path that changes the direction of the journey. These meaningful coincidences strung together are referred to as synchronicity.

In the first exercise we were asked to rest the critical part of our mind as well as block any sadness in childhood and look into the face of the child and see the beautiful, resilient and unchanging essence of our wise self. If we were unable to visualize a happy memory, we were to create a new positive visualization. The purpose of the exercise was in remembering who we are and to fall in love with ourselves again.

I’ll admit, I’ve been practicing gratitude on a regular basis for several years, but didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary, when she told me just the opposite. Again …. WHAT? ME? She replied, “You.” OK, tell us more.

How often do you take the time to REALLY tune into your environment? I mean put everything aside and just listen to life? All the sights and sounds of life that normally get completely missed. Even though I’m constantly working on being in the here and now, it doesn’t always happen.

Last week I had quite the experience ….. several days of procrastination and fear. Fear of something that sounded rather ridiculous, albeit real. So ridiculous I’m rather embarrassed to bust myself out, but I’m guessing many can relate. Let me start at the beginning of my story which began a week ago, Tuesday.

Here in the midwest, this year’s summer weather has been exceptional. I can’t remember a year when the weather was this nice starting at the beginning of June. Actually, I believe it began sometime in May. Usually, June is a cool month with one or two warmer days, but this year it was a fantastic month; followed by a great July and August.

It seems like there is an abundance of people, including me, feeling stress, strain and struggle in 2020. In fact, most people I’ve talk to have felt anxious and uncertain at times about the state of the world with COVID19, and recent violence. A world where many haven’t experienced anything like it before. Because of this, most don’t know how to navigate in the moment or moving forward.

Boundaries are the limits you set with yourself around what you will or will not tolerate. Simply said, what’s OK and what’s not. You have the right to your feelings. If you haven’t set boundaries in the past it could be for fear of conflict, being a people pleaser, making sure everyone else is OK, or even doing things out of obligation. However, setting healthy boundaries is taking back the power in your life. Instead of abandoning your needs, depleting yourself and holding back, it’s OK to put you first with self-love, while prioritizing your well-being and what’s best for you.

Last week, I found myself singing in the shower; a song that popped into my head that I probably hadn’t heard or sung in a long while. Out of nowhere I was belting out This little light of mine. As I was singing, I wondered why that particular song came forward. After reflecting, I determined it must have been either my higher self reminding me of my purpose or I was meant to share the message through my writings that someone was meant to hear.

When you think of the phrase, I am enough, what does that bring up for you? Does it make you feel inspired, uplifted and joyful, or does it bring up feelings of doubt, fear and unworthiness? If the phrase makes you feel happy and worthy you are 100% right, however, if it makes you sad and unworthy, then there’s work to be done.

State by state, the country’s been slowly opening back up from Covid19, but along the way there have been a lot of disappointment, people have experienced. For me personally, a few events, several get togethers, four airplane trips, one weekend getaway, lots of anticipated adventures, and many other calendar dates have all been cancelled through the end of the year. Although, I understand the reasoning behind the cancellations, it’s not always easy to swallow.

I’ve been thinking about the question “Now what?” As the home isolation orders are slowly transitioning into being, “I’m free……I’m free at last”…..now what? Like most, I have no idea how I’ll begin to navigate the new normal. In my mind, I want to leap feet first back into my life. The life I’ve known since…….well, since forever.