Abundance: A Reset for 2022

I used to think that choosing a word for your year was a little tacky, cliche at best. And perhaps it is. That said, last year I took the leap and discovered the power of encapsulating all my hopes and intentions for the year ahead. When I selected ‘radiance,’ it was a reminder of all I could be during a particularly challenging season. (I mean, was winter 2021 the height of anyone’s life?) It was the word that I latched on to, that helped me look ahead, and that reframed the way I thought entirely. So cliche or not, I was sold on the idea of a word for the year. I’d discovered that it was so much more than simply a “mindset;” instead, it was a mind “reset,” creating space for new thoughts and placing old, unhelpful thought patterns to rest. In December I took some time to consider the year ahead, my hopes and my dreams, but also the lessons learned in the year past that I wanted to carry with me into the future. For the year ahead, I chose abundance.

Since the pandemic began almost two years ago (somehow my reaction to that fact is one part, the pandemic has clearly been going on forever, it must be WAY more than two years and simultaneously, one part there’s no way it’s already been two years, the time has passed so quickly! And both reactions feel accurate.) it’s been easy to see everything that has been lost. Time, for one. Experiences. Even relationships. Fill in your own blank, because even those of us who didn’t get COVID (yet!), lost something. Yet, last year, amid the absence of so much, it was so clear how much I had. In the chrysalis of that COVID winter, I could see the deep and powerful love that surrounded Austin and me - in our friends, near and far, in our family, and in each other. I deeply value the time that Austin and I shared with each other, even as we missed those we could not see. As the world revved back up to some kind of “normal” pace, I kept that reminder close to my heart. The awareness of all that I have, even in the absence of some things, ushers in deep peace and most of all, highlights the deep joy in my life, a joy that permeates all things. It shifts my heart from grieving what is not, to being thankful for what is. That’s not to say that there isn’t a time and a place for grief, but in recognizing the fullness of life, such grief can exist parallel to joy, and that makes all the difference.

Moving forward with abundance also gives me the courage to hope wild hopes, to look to the future with the assuredness that it will always be full. And we do have wild hopes for this year ahead. It’s a struggle, to balance that hope for the future with peace in the moment, all the while grappling with the disappointment of what is not yet to be, but it’s a struggle worth facing. Resting in the peace of all the goodness, all the love that surrounds me, I find it a little easier to keep hoping and waiting, to overcome disappointment month after month, and to appreciate the beauty of today for what it is.

So, all that said, what does that mean in my physical, daily life? To the outsider, my life probably won’t look all too different, but for me, the subtle changes make all the difference. I want to revel in all the goodness of my life — to let the people in my life know how much they mean to me, to celebrate the big and little joys of my life with Austin, to explore this beautiful world, whether it is right outside my door or far afield. This past week my husband and I observed our third anniversary of being together, just one week before we would mark eighteen months of marriage. As we reflected on the time, we asked each other what our favorite dates have been, our favorite things we’ve baked together, how we’d describe each other to someone who didn’t know us. This act of reflection and devotion, to see how far we’d come together, reminded me so very deeply of the fullness of our life, and the great love and joy we share in all things and all times. When I say I want to live my life with abundance, I want to do more of that, to recenter my heart and mind on this beautiful life that Austin and I share, because it is so very full of love and joy. Most of all, I want to live into the promise that we “would have life and have it more abundantly.”

There are a great many other things I want to do in the year ahead — I wouldn’t call them resolutions per se, but maybe a bucket list for the year. I want to finally run that half marathon I’ve been dreaming about, to finally visit Ottawa again, to hike new trails in the Adirondacks, to wear more skirts casually, to visit the ocean, to continue to visit our family (especially since we now have family in far off places), to improve our family budgeting habits, to make that sourdough starter, to visit Newfoundland, to read more poetry, to write more letters to friends, to plant another herb garden, to more regularly call friends far away, maybe even travel internationally again; I could go on and on. I don’t expect to do everything on my 2022 bucket list — it’s there for guidelines and ideas, to help me articulate my values and priorities. Much more important are is an awareness of those values, no matter how they play out, most especially grace, hope, faith, joy, and love. And romance, as my husband made sure I wouldn’t forget (but, how could I forget that). But all of them filter through in a life lived with abundance.