Rearview Mirror

Well....2016 is almost over and all I have to say is, 'Good Riddance!'  I think most everyone will agree that we are happy to see 2016 go.  For some reason this past year has been a terrible one for many people.  Social media has erupted with meme's, gifs and videos all declaring that 2016, for lack of better words, sucked.

With the conclusion of the year approaching, I like to take some time to reflect on the past year, and as I do so I realize that while it has not been the easiest year personally, I can honestly say that I have learned a lot.

We truly never know what someone else is going through:  

Often times we walk around with a smile on our face, when inwardly we are feeling low.  This happy exterior is often a shield to protect ourselves from being vulnerable to our emotions and to others.  I think that we as human beings are more alike that we are different.  We all have our 'stuff' to deal with in life; no one is excluded from the pains of the universe.  Since we never truly know what one another is going through, let's try to do our best to (as one of my favorite's, Ellen DeGeneres says), 'Be kind to one another'.  You truly never know how your smile or acts of kindness can impact others.  Simple gestures from others have left an imprint on my heart on some of my toughest days, and I will do my best to remember how much the 'little things' count.


Give yourself and others grace:

We all falter.  Plans fall through.  Goals may not be achieved. We may 'let ourselves down', or worse yet, let someone else down.  I can only speak for myself, but I know that I do not always meet my goals.  From something as little as not vacuuming (but let's get real, those that know me know I could NEVER go without vacuuming), to saying that I am going to learn another language, or I will save more money this year etc.  Reasons for not meeting some goals could be timing, situational, or just plain laziness.  I know for sure I have skipped out on some daily tasks because I just wanted to take a nap...or watch one more episode of OITNB (but for real, who watches just one!)  In any case, if you find yourself not meeting a goal, big or small, know that you are not alone.  If someone cancels a plan on you, try not to get too annoyed.  **For friends in recovery, if you ever fail to meet your meal plan, or have a slip, just pick your head up and get it back tomorrow.  If you don't accomplish everything you hoped to in a day, month or year, don't beat yourself up, look at how much you did accomplish!

I am enough, you are enough, WE ARE ENOUGH!:

'Not good enough'.  'Stupid'.  'Ugly'.  'Fat'.

These are just a few words that I have said to myself.  Words and criticisms stick.  If we say things often enough and we start to believe them.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?   I know I catch myself saying negative things about myself on a daily basis.  Just a slip of the tongue that comes so natural. Some of the things that I have said about myself are things that I would never call or think about other people...so why say it to myself?  We truly are our own worst enemy.  Our words and thoughts can be so debilitating to our character we may have trouble recovering from the cruelty we place on ourselves.  When you are feeling low, and catch yourself saying something negative about yourself, try and catch it, rewind, change it.

We are all unique, beautiful beings who are, 'fearfully and wonderfully made'.

We are more than a number on the scale.  We are more than our credit score.  We are more than our 'likes' on Facebook.  We are more than how many 'followers' we have.  We are more than our bank account.  We are more than what we wear.  We are more than the car we drive.   We need to do our best to, 'stay in our own lanes.  Comparison kills creativity and joy.'

We are exactly where we need to be.  We are all Enough.

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