An Unconventional Warm Up: Reflecting on the Years Past

We all have a jam that gets us going- our favorite song to set the tone for the day, a warm up song before a long work-out, an upbeat song to put us in a good mood, a dance song for those moments when we want to celebrate how good life is. For me, that song is Kids by MGMT; it is the song that puts everything else I am doing on hold, it is the song that I can belt from the top of my lungs and shamelessly dance to alone in my car, or with a group of my closest friends. Simply, it is the song that always puts me in a good mood. Today is the first Tuesday of 2016. Usually, this is about the time when the “New Year’s Blues” kick in for me. The Christmas decorations come down, the lights get put away, the tree gets put out on the curb. Twelve months until the next holiday season seems like an eternity. We go back to work, some of our family leaves to go back home, and the mundane duties of life pick back up, almost without skipping a beat. This year, though, I was unusually looking forward to a new year, a fresh start, and the beginning of all I have to look forward to. My eagerness in awaiting the arrival of a new year could be attributed to a period of uncertainty, discontentment, confusion, and a sense of endless wandering that I found myself in post-graduation. In the last few weeks of December, I found myself eagerly awaiting a fresh new start, the relief of a new beginning, and the sense of promise that unfolding a new year’s surprises and treasures would bring. I was ready for 2016.Before jumping ahead to unpacking the adventures, treasured moments, surprises, and celebrations of this new year, though, I find it important to reflect on the years past, on the joyful moments and the uncomfortable moments, alike, on the happiness and on the disappointment, on the accomplishments and on the failures. In order to extend our arms to receive all that this year has to offer us, in order to make the most of the adventure, the hardship, the celebrations, and the surprises that this year will bring us, we must take time to reflect on how these past years have shaped us, steered us, and guided us to be the people that we are today. Those situations that made us discontent are a significant part of the course of our lives; likewise, are those moments in which we found ourselves lost, wandering, or not belonging, those times that tested us to our core, those hardships during which we almost gave up, those accomplishments we failed in achieving, or those expectations we have not yet met. Those moments and situations, those which we try to avoid or which we do not wish to remember, have significance in not only contributing to the people we are today, but they add meaning to everything we are awaiting this next year to unfold for us. It is important to reflect upon the situations that make us feel uncomfortable, lonely, and unaccomplished because those moments have given us the stamina to reach, even wearily, into the promise of a new year. Those moments and situations have given us the strength and determination to pursue our dreams, despite a time of wandering in which we may not see an end in sight. Those moments have a place in our lives, in the people we have become, and in the process of attaining what we want for this year ahead. This time of reflection is our warm up song. It is what will get us excited for what is to come. It is what will prepare our hearts and our minds to achieve goals, dreams, and aspirations that we did not think were possible to achieve. It is what we will draw upon to believe that we can soar beyond the limitations we have set for ourselves. It is our reminder that although similar times of discontentment, confusion, sadness, and loneliness may root themselves in the midst of this new year ahead, the strength that we have found in those past times will carry us through the uncertainties that the future may bring.Over the course of this month, I want to establish a space where we can prepare our hearts and minds for the year ahead. Through reflection, rest, rediscovery, and revival, let us set intentions for this year to come. Reflecting on the years past, then, is the first phase in preparing for the year to come. Establishing a time of reflection is necessary in order to begin living with boldness and tenacity, setting goals and dreams that resist fear, doubt, and all other limitations. Reflecting on how we have grown and changed during years past allows us to persistently work to achieve those goals. Reflecting on the love we have been shown allows us to shower those around us with unconditional love, abounding grace, unhibited kindness. Reflecting on the hard moments and the incandescently joyous moments, alike, reminds us to celebrate each moment with an authenticity and honesty that casts light to the lives of all those around us. Reflecting on the strength we have built leads us to believe that the hard and sad moments we may face will equip us and strengthen us beyond what we could ever imagine. Reflecting on the celebrations during even this past holiday season, with loved ones close and treasured moments held dear, invites an inspiration into our lives that reminds us to be present for the people in our lives, to, be aware of what is going on in the world, and to offer what we have to work to bridge gaps, distances, and differences.Through this time of reflection, let us make this next year more joyous, more progressive, and filled with more courage, depth, and love than all the years past. Let us welcome this year with openness and readiness. Let us plant our feet firm upon the ground that has been paved with the power, resilience, understanding, and all the desires of the years past. Let us use this foundation under our feet to launch into all the wonders of this next year ahead, a year that has incomparably more to offer us and exultantly more to reveal to us.