New Year's Realizations

Pablo Picasso's "Dove with Flowers"

The holidays are over. The New Year is here. A fresh beginning. The next chapter.

I pondered two specific questions (among many others) during my 10-days off: "What has 2011 taught me?" followed with "What do I wish to achieve in 2012?"

I have always found the idea that you start the year with a "resolution" a tad perplexing ... because for me, a resolution comes at the end of a journey, not the beginning of a new one. Granted, I realize it merely boils down to semantics, but nonetheless, I would almost prefer them to be "declarations." After all, aren't the majority of these said declarations abandoned within the first few weeks of the year?

As I spent time contemplating the last 12-months, I was able to see that 2011 was a year about lessons & realizations for me, and with that, I believe that 2012 is about putting them into practice. I have been up in my head since August 2010, choosing to face some important questions in order to move forward from my own self-imposed roadblocks. And I asked millions of them, challenging many of my own beliefs and relationships, while allowing my core to be rattled when the answers did not instantly appear.

Sitting now with 2011 in the rear-view mirror, I am filled with gratitude that the Universe and my loved ones were patient enough with me (and I with myself) as I worked (and talked) a lot of mess out. It takes a village, right?

So, now, in a few words, I share with you some of the realizations I had over the course of the last year, and certainly ones I wish to carry with me into 2012:

Everyone has a voice and someone wants to hear it.
What you say, who you are and what you want matter. 
No one is put on this earth to fail. 
People really do change.
Our biggest challenge may in fact be our greatest blessing.
Expectations are not the same thing as intentions.
Work hard to play even harder.
It can be scary being real.
Nothing starts without action.
When we scatter seeds, we must be open to the possibility that they may sprout and grow in an unexpected place in the garden.

As you peruse your own list, know that you make a difference in the world merely by being you. And anything you do to improve yourself in the coming year, will make the world an even better place.

Here's to a beautiful New Year of 2012!

xo JN