change can be planned or unplanned
Diagonal / Sidewalk, Photo by Bernadette Cay 2019
Change can be planned or unplanned. It can be slow or fast, visible or invisible. For example, like so many of us, I watched the slow + invisible dissolution of my pre-Covid community in New York, reconstituting in fits and starts on Zoom and in parks. A change that was fast + visible: I recently moved (still here, just up the road!). This was around the time of both the election and while other friends around the US were moving too – a rinse cycle, for the individual and the collective.
My Mind and Body are still catching up to one another. Sometimes I find my mind jumping ahead to 2021, while my body is physically here in New York in December. My soul is still somewhere in April. With some rest during this quiet time of year, they are gently finding their way back to each other again.
Wherever you are and however this year has shaped you, I’d like to offer you an excerpt (5:33) that I shared in a meditation group. It’s from Chapter 2 of Pema Chödrön’s book, When Things Fall Apart. The excerpt contains two stories: one you may have heard before, and another with a surprise ending (or beginning 😉). Please reference her book for the full text.
Through all the ways we’ve broken open and all the ways we’ve healed apart, this year has shaped each of us into who we are today and what we bring to the year ahead. To help support your year-end reflection:
Year Compass – By yourself or with friends. (Thanks for the recommendation, Anya!)
Take a Walk Through Your Year (guided visualization, 7:49)
Mindful Recovery (especially designed for a specific project or launch)
Design your own self-retreat to create this container of reflection