Today is Monday. And Mondays are usually a time for my #MondayMusings post. But not this Monday. Today I want briefly reflect on 2019 – My Year Of Light.
At the start of 2019, I shared that my Word of the Year was going to be Light. I also shared that I had been inspired by Rebecca Campbell’s ‘Light Is The New Black‘ to choose the word.
My Year of Light
And so began my year of light. I kept a bullet-journal for the most part. I read a lot of books. I worked a lot. I put in many hours into blogging. I also spent considerable time and effort attempting to help other people – financially, emotionally, with their blogging. I tried to get new things started – blogging group meetings, training sessions, new blogging features. I had a full time employee for a few months, besides other writers for my blogs through the year.
All these efforts could be summed up into : I tried hard. But there’s also another way of saying this: I caused undue stress to my being.
Yes, finally in September, my body gave me a huge warning. It told me that I better sit up and pay attention to my health or my systems would slowly shut down.
There are two ways you can approach life and the things that are thrown at you. You can ask, “Why me?” and mourn about it, or you can see even the darkest of situations as an opportunity to learn and grow.
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”
– Kahlil Gibran
Thankfully, for me, I took my ill-health as a wake up call. It was the perfect opportunity to allow Light to shine in the dark places in me.
I began to examine all my choices. My work. My relationships. I realized how badly I had been treating myself.
I started to read ‘Light is the New Black’ all over again and let its words sink deep. I truly searched my soul and I’m happy to say that I have seen the Light.
The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
– Rumi
Based on my reflections and choices over the last couple of months, I’ve also come up with my Word of the Year for 2020, which I’ll be sharing with you soon.
What a beautiful summary of your year of light. I’m focusing on light as a spiritual practice for Advent this year–attempting to pay attention in the morning to the moment when light begins to appear. It’s a small thing, and I’m up early in the morning anyway, so it requires nothing more than that I pay attention to what’s going on outside my kitchen window.
Looking forward to knowing what your WOTY for 2020 will be. I think I know what mine is. This year it was “Health” and I think I did a reasonably good job of identifying and narrowing down on stuff about my health. Like you said, “I tried hard” too. Hugs to you.
Jyothi Nair recently posted..Cinderella Is Evil by Jamie Campbell
I really love how our WOTY takes on a life of its own. Something we know at a subconscious level, perhaps, when we choose it. But it reveals many layers than we may not have consciously thought of. I’m also curious now about Light is the new Black. I read Rise Sister Rise (her second book) and I was underwhelmed. Honestly, I couldn’t finish it. It was so fluffy and lacking in substance. Perhaps her first one was a lot better?
Modern Gypsy recently posted..Looking back at 2019: Establishing an art practice
I think I will skip the WOTY this year as just that exercise gives me stress; so i have realised from the past 2 years.
I am glad you were able to re-work things via are-assessment; health is wealth Corinne and I cannot emphasize more on that. I hope you find your stride and pride in everything you set out to achieve in the coming year 🙂
It’s so easy to release our inner hulk and bash everything in sight when we face negative or challenging situations. Controlling our reactions, staying positive and learning from the experience is the way forward. So glad that you truly lived by your WOTY. Stay healthy and happy, Corinne and take care of yourself. ♥
I did a WOTY for several years- after January I would ignore it. So I haven’t done it the past 3 or so years. For the same reason I abandoned New Years resolutions. And I’m happy you realized your health was being impacted. Our bodies sometimes try to protect us in interesting ways.
Corinne: I love that Rumi quote about the light entering from a broken place. That quote keeps finding me. Thank you for sharing your insight and wisdom gained from addressing challenges this year and turning those challenges into strengths that you can share. All my best to you for a wonderful 2020.
It is good that you realized it was time to treat yourself better. Often we are good friends to everyone except ourselves. It was smart of you to take time, reflect, and look for the light.
I love how you used your WOTY to light up 2019. Unfortunately, my days are so dependent on the fancies and moods of others (the children, mostly) that I often get overwhelmed and fail to keep to any agenda. I really need some calming practices.