Saturday, December 27, 2014

...what kind of year has it been?

As the last remnants of the past year fade away, I always get a bit reflective, if not melancholy.

We like to measure things in our society by quantifiable results. Number of widgets sold, dollars made, things bought, places traveled. We want to be able to say that we’ve amounted to something we hadn’t before. And that’s commendable. I like being able to say that, too.

But what about the ways we’ve grown inside, the depth of how we love, the new foundations we’ve laid where the old have crumbled? What about the times we persevered when we were sure we couldn’t and the people we’ve become in the wake of that?

Growth is often messy, but I, for one, wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t want to finish running a marathon and look like I never broke a sweat. I want to wear the journey with grace, but I want to wear the journey. I like knowing that the person who is sitting down writing this is not the same person who was writing a year ago. And I hope to God to be able to say the same thing next year.

I feel, in many ways, like 2014 has been a roller coaster, and what I’ve learned on the ride is that both the highs and lows are tenuous and temporary.

I’ve taken the risk of honesty, of baring my soul on more than one occasion this year, both in my life and in my writing. And I have found that no matter what the results looked like on the outside, it was a good and soul-affirming thing to be willing to be seen and known for who I truly am and how I truly feel.

Of course, of all the accomplishments I can think of for 2014, at the top of my list is recording the album In Color, which will be completed in 2015.

The journey that is and has been the making of this album has been one of the hugest opportunities for personal, professional, and spiritual growth I’ve ever experienced.

The updates I post are only one small part of the story. There are stories behind the story, which, believe me, are highly entertaining. (One involves eight people, a pot of meatballs, two iPhones, and a very creative producer. See? You’re entertained already.)

There’s something inherently beautiful about the old giving way to the new, even as we resist the whole notion of it. It’s the natural order of things. And if we could but embrace it, maybe it wouldn’t seem like such a huge monster lurking.

Maybe tomorrow is destined to be better than today. Maybe our best moments of all are still in front of us. Maybe we haven’t even begun to fathom the level of joy or love or peace or exhilaration we will experience. Maybe our greatest masterpieces have yet to be created.

I know that I am willing to let go of anything that keeps me from embracing what I was meant to do and be and have at my fullest potential. I also know that that isn’t for the faint of heart, because it means I have to be willing to do things differently, see things differently and show up differently in the world.

I am willing to entertain new thoughts, bolder dreams, a bigger set of goals, and a greater vision of what’s possible. Aren’t you? Isn’t it time? Don’t we all deserve a world that’s looks more like that?

I am so grateful for the moments I’ve shared with each and every person over the past year. I am so grateful that life brought me to you and you to me.

Whatever your greatest desire, I wish it for you tenfold.

Whatever your health, I wish you restoration, healing, and vibrancy.

Whatever your dreams, I wish you something greater than you can even imagine for yourself.

Whatever your mistakes or regrets, I wish you lessons learned, forgiveness, and the knowledge that you are wiser than you were before.

Whatever our journeys may be or wherever they may take us, together or apart, I hold as my intention for 2015 one of love, compassion, kindness, peace, fulfillment, abundance, and joy that surpass our greatest expectations.

Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.

Peace & blessings to you in the New Year!

Ilene

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