It’s only Monday and I’m feeling incredibly happy and peaceful. There’s something wonderful about a “staycation.” I believe that the Universe is trying to tell me something and showing me a different side to my life, one that I haven’t lived in over a year and a half.
And I’m remembering it.
I remember how wonderful it felt to be home, to be writing at all hours of the day and night, to chat on the phone, to cook and clean. I remember how wonderful it felt to be home and not tired, to be home with time to talk to my friends and get together for lunch, to be home with my family.
I’m using this time to think about my life. I guess you could say I’m writing a list of my New Year’s Revelations…all that I’ve learned throughout 2021 and all that I don’t want to repeat in 2022.
And I’m grateful that I have this time to think about it all.
I’m sure there will be changes, some difficult and some easy, but I’m making decisions that are for my highest good. Decisions that will enhance my life and make it a life that I want.
Onward to changes. Onward to writing a list of New Year’s Revelations. Onward to doing what it takes to live your best life.
It took me over 30 minutes to get the ice and snow off my car this morning but after that I was on my way to work, driving my favorite route: the beach. It was quite a beauty this morning. It’s almost an anomaly to see snow on the sand but one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. It’s haunting yet picturesque. It’s a look that you don’t see often so when you’re lucky enough to see it then you know you’re blessed to have seen something so amazing.
Sometimes our days begin in an awesome way until something trips us up and puts us in a funk, a down mood, so to speak. I had just that type of morning. In the midst of accounting and invoices I found myself feeling sad. I know what caused it but more importantly, I had to figure out why. I wasn’t going to talk about it until I figured out why a certain incident caused me to feel so badly. And that’s where I am tonight. I don’t want to talk about it with anyone until I’ve figured out why I let it bother me.
The key is not to react to whomever may have invoked these feelings within us, but rather look inwards to ourselves to understand and figure out WHY we had those feelings. And that is what my Friday night is tonight, taking a good look inward at my heart and soul to see what I’m really upset about. Was it what was said? Or was it about how I felt about what was said?
And that’s up to each of us. We need to understand that our feelings, no matter how they were invoked, are OUR feelings and only WE know why we feel that way. This is why it’s important not to react but rather to take it in and think about it. My feelings tonight are MINE and mine alone. I know what upset wasn’t meant to intentionally upset me but sadly, it did. I don’t blame the person who said it but would rather spend my time tonight alone thinking about WHY it upset me. And once I can do that, I’ll be able to say that I learned something else about myself, and isn’t that what life is all about? Learning about ourselves, the why’s and the how’s, and figuring out what to do with all of that.
I’m learning not to blame the messenger but to understand the message and deal with it.
Life is always changing and we are always learning more and more about ourselves, if we’re open to learning, not blaming. And isn’t that what our down days are all about? Learning, not blaming. Understanding, not judging. Accepting, not allowing.
I love life more than I can tell you, the good days and the bad. I know that they all came to teach me, help me, and move me forward. And my hope is that you see your life as a gift, not a burden, no matter what it hands you.
As for me? My Friday night is filled with a hot bath, a cup of lavender tea, and a martini glass filled with tears and understanding.
Good night, my loves. May life be good to you and may you take those “down days” as your life lesson on how to turn them into your “up days!”
The definition of a revelation is “a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.”
I write about the “New Year’s Revelations” every year and as 2020 is about to end I’m thinking of all that I’ve been through and all that I’ve learned. I’d like to share that with you.
My year began with the launch of my book, “Each Breath Along The Journey,” which brought some amazing opportunities for me: a chance to teach a writer’s workshop in Italy, to write for a local magazine and conduct a weekly workshop. The pandemic hit and every chance I had was suddenly gone.
The pandemic kept me confined to the house and my daily routine was disrupted with everyone else home. I began cooking AND eating three meals a day, and not all the healthiest of choices.
I found myself going back to a job I had left six years ago to work full-time. Suddenly I was out and everyone else was home.
My five year relationship was falling apart and by July it had all changed.
I moved from the house I had been in for 10 years to a 9 month winter rental near the beach.
We’ve all gone through some tough times this year but as I always say “change is a chance to grow.” Some of those changes may be difficult but I always believe everything happens for a reason.
My revelations of 2020 are:
“Resilience.”Disappointment happens and things don’t always go as planned but those disappointments are a chance to do something else with what you’ve got. Sometimes those disappointments turn into your greatest comeback!
“Gratitude.” I learned to embrace the time that the pandemic had forced me to have home with those closest to me. It slowed me down and gave me a greater appreciation for my life and all the things I had taken for granted.
“Health.” Three meals a day equals weight gain so I decided to change all that by joining a program that not only helped me to lose the weight and inches, it’s helped me to sleep better and have more energy. My mind is clear and more focused than ever.
“Blessing.” The job proved to be a good thing for me both mentally and financially.
“Forgiveness.” We were both feeling hurt from all that had happened in our relationship and it forced us to take a good look at ourselves and each other. It’s one day at a time and we continue to work at it.
“Healing.” The move to the beach house proved to be the best place I could have landed at that time in my life. I needed to heal and find my balance again.
And that’s how I’m letting go and saying good-bye to 2020, with my revelations of “resilience, gratitude, blessings, forgiveness and healing.” It’s a good start for 2021 and I’ll be taking those revelations and more into the new year with me.
I hear so many people say that they can’t wait until this year is over. I get it, it’s been a crazy year with this virus but why wish your precious time away? Why wish a year away that you were gifted to live each day through?
Why not just wish the pandemic away? After all, that’s been the problem, hasn’t it?
I always say that life is a mindset and this is more true than ever. Stop wishing the year away because those are days you weren’t promised but days you were blessed to have. Don’t take any of them for granted.
Wish the pandemic away and do what you can to prevent the spread of it.
Life is short enough as it is so please don’t let this pandemic make you lose sight of how precious each day of your life is. Don’t let the pandemic make you forget to live each day to its fullest.
And don’t let the pandemic make you forget that each day with the ones you love, whether together or apart, is a gift.
Go ahead and wish the pandemic away.
But please don’t wish your precious time away because of it.
I think life is better when you have a smile on your face and gratitude in your heart. Life can hand us some difficult situations to have to get through and it can also hand us some of the most beautiful and amazing experiences. I’ve gone through my share of difficult times and if there’s a few things I’ve learned, it’s this: you need to smile through it, find a sense of humor during it, and have an attitude of gratitude through, during and after it.
A smile has an impact, a sense of humor lifts the spirit, and an attitude of gratitude is powerful.
The world is a bit crazy right now yet despite that we can choose to wake up every morning with gratitude and spend our days counting our blessings.
Don’t allow all the craziness in the world right now make you lose sight of this beautiful life that you have. There is nothing worth anything that can take that away, unless you allow it to. Please don’t do that.
Life is a gift and each day you wake up is a reason to smile and be grateful. And no matter what the day brings, if you can smile through it, laugh during it and be grateful for it all then you’ve found the key to living your best life.
And isn’t that what we all want?
I’m grateful for many things in my life and I’m grateful for all of you who love and support my page and take the time out of your busy lives to share your thoughts with me. You all have made a positive impact on my life.
Thank you. You are all truly amazing human beings.
Sometimes we keep going over and over in our heads about what went wrong and how did we get to where we are now. Last night I had this very conversation and I said that there’s no use in wondering about how we got here but there is use in deciding where we go from here. I’m really starting to feel more comfortable with this adventure I’m on. I feel as though my mind is thinking more clearly than it has in months and that I have more answers than I have questions. I feel like I’m breathing for the first time in a long time.
I realized that I was living “in” a life, rather than “living life.” There’s a difference. We find ourselves living in a life that we’re comfortable with yet I’ve since learned that we all deserve so much more. We deserve to be “living a life” that we want, that brings us joy and that we’re grateful for. People lose sight of all those good things when they’re just going through the motions of “living in a life.” It happens when we become comfortable and take things for granted.
I’m not wondering anymore about how I got here, I’m focused on where I go from here. I know for sure that I want to live life to its fullest, embracing each and every day, surrounding myself with people who lift me up rather than those that bring me down, and move forward without fear, but with faith that everything will be okay. I’m learning that what happened last week has no place in what’s happening this week. I’m learning that there are some things in life I will never understand. And I’m learning that the more I select my thoughts into being positive ones, the better I feel.
I was in a state of complete joy last night over my oldest getting engaged and I loved that feeling. And I reminded myself yet again that I am in control of how I feel.
Life is a series of choices and each of us are in control of our own.
Human behavior always amazes me, especially when hearts are broken or bruised. I’ve had quite a few broken hearts in my life. When I was younger and immature my first thought would have been to “pay them back.” Let’s face it, that’s what most teenagers do. Yet as I grew older I learned that a pay back isn’t the solution for a broken heart. It’s not the solution to anything. Broken and bruised hearts happen for so many reasons, yet as I always say, if your heart feels any pain then remind yourself that your heart still works. We can’t feel brokenness if we can’t feel love. I’ve learned that when someone breaks my heart there is no easy fix, and no pay back or spiteful behavior will help ease the pain. In fact, the more you act out in vindictiveness or spite towards someone who hurt you, the more you’ll stay in your own pain. You’ll never move forward and you’ll never heal. And don’t we all want to heal from something that has hurt us? I will tell you in no uncertain terms that hurting someone that hurt you isn’t the answer and will never serve you well. Talk to the person who hurt you, express your feelings, and listen to their reasons as to why they had done something to hurt you. Not everyone hurts another human being on purpose. I know I don’t. Sometimes it’s inevitable that we hurt the ones we love, not because we stopped loving them, but because we began to love ourselves in a way that they couldn’t or wouldn’t.
“The heart has a mind of its own” and when that heart has been hurt by someone they love, the mind seems to take over with no reason or rhyme. A heart that truly knows love will never lose sight of how precious it is. The heart knows how it feels and every so often the mind gets involved to help it through the pain. We all have gone through a broken heart at one time or another, but I beg of you, don’t allow your pain to hurt someone back. Nothing good will ever come out of negative emotions. Feel the pain, deal with the “why,” and heal from it. The pain of a broken heart won’t last forever, but your spiteful actions towards them will. And that’s my thoughts for tonight. If you’re feeling hurt, feel it, but don’t feel the need to inflict intentional pain on another human being. In the end, what goes around comes around. It always does. Life and love is about “forgiveness.” And that’s the only way to heal.
“And as the world was changing, so were the people in it.” AD
It’s been about two months now of social distancing and quarantine and I’ve noticed a lot of positive changes happening.
I’ve noticed that the wildlife seems to have sprung back to life. Here at the Jersey Shore a herd of deer are romping and playing on the beach and roaming the streets in town. I’ve seen and heard more types of birds than normal and the colors of the leaves, grass, and flowers seem so much more vibrant. The sun even feels warmer and seems to shine even brighter than it used to. Even blue skies seem to be a clearer and stronger shade of blue.
And I’ve noticed the people changing along with the world. Strangers take the time to wave, smile and ask how you’re doing. Neighbors speak more often all the while social distancing with one another. People are putting the effort into finding other ways to celebrate birthdays and graduations by driving someone’s home in their decorated cars and beeping their horns. Restaurants that offer curbside pick-up and delivery do so with a smile. And for all of us wearing masks and gloves when needed, we’re doing it to protect ourselves, our families and everyone else’s. It seems that so many people have again started to look out for each other by calling more often or scheduling video chats together.
People are learning to embrace their time at home. They’re cleaning and purging their homes, they’re spending more time cooking and having dinner with their family, and some are even spending more time outdoors planting a garden or simply enjoying the sunshine and blue skies. They’re walking or running more, biking more, and they’re doing activities that help them stay calm and less anxious, such as meditation or yoga.
Despite what’s going on in the world, I’ve seen some truly beautiful changes in both our environment and in the people. It’s as if both are in a “healing process” of becoming a kinder and gentler world.
I wrote a story in my latest book, “Each Breath Along The Journey” called “Moment’s In Life.” In it I write about the importance of turning off the world during crazy times so that you can find your strength to turn it back on. How true that is right now!
Take a listen.
“Sometimes you have to turn the world off to find the strength you need to turn it back on.”
Stay calm. Stay safe. Stay home.
It’s a good thing.
Wishing you love and light
~Anne Dennish~
(You can find “Each Breath Along The Journey,” as well as my other two books, “Waking Up: Lessons Learned Through My Adventures With Life and Breast Cancer” and “My Collective Soul: Things I Know Without Knowing Why” on Amazon.com. All books are available on Kindle.)
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 