On a New Year

Palermo, Sicily

I love this time of the year. Perhaps because New Year’s falls close to my birthday, I always feel it is a time for reflection. I often look back on the past year, the past years, and I look forward to the future: things I want to do and the way I want to be. I certainly don’t feel that New Year’s is the only time you can make a reset, but it is opportune to use the downtime of the holiday season to rest, to reflect, to dream, and to maybe not plan exactly, but strategize and organize ourselves to align with our ambitions.

Because of course, we can’t know what the universe has in store for us. But we can dream, and surrender, and be open. This year has taken me down paths I never could have imagined, and I am so thankful for them. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful new people I have met and the new experiences I have had, all of which were right in front of me at home in Palermo, but I hadn’t known about them yet. My wish for next year is to continue to deepen certain of these ties and continue to push myself to branch out, to try new things. This can be much more difficult to do once you feel you are somewhat established, stable, compared to when you are just starting out and have to try new things in order to meet people. But I am still determined to do so, because I believe it will be good for me. Even if I have to try many new things to find one that sticks. And even, more painfully, if it means I have to say goodbye to some things in order to continue to grow.

As much as we can’t know what will happen tomorrow, and I believe we should remain open to things changing, we can look to our daily lives as a catalyst for bringing about positive change. Over the years, I have cultivated, refined, as well as re-evaluated and changed direction when necessary, the things that make me who I am. I don’t like to say “daily habits” because there are some days when you don’t have time to workout, or practice French, or whatever it is. But overall, I have my ways and my attitudes that lead me in the direction of continuing to learn, to grow, and to be in a more prepared place when the unexpected happens. Because of all the major changes that happened for me this year, I can tell you that they each arose from chance - a chance encounter in the street or a whim that I followed up on, really.

So that is my wish for you and for me: to be open, to be reflective, to be peaceful, and to live with intention and whimsy. I hope in the new year brings you many beautiful, unexpected, and cherished moments, and that all of your wishes come true.

love,

greer