Traditions, Traditions, Traditions.

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Well we're smack dab in the middle of the holiday season and soon we will be celebrating with family and undoubtedly will be dusting off some old traditions, as well as creating new ones for the future.  As is customary for me, I will be writing to you today with some reflections of the past year, and with some advice for the upcoming year.  I will also attempt to get you perfectly situated for what is sure to be a banner 2020.

2019 has truly been a year of change for me and my family.  As most of you know my husband and I made the move from Maine to Texas. Although there are many things that we miss about our time in Maine, all 31 years of it, I am truly loving our time here, and I am looking forward to all the adventures that have already begun to germinate.  As we say good-bye to some old traditions, we will never forget them, but we are anticipating creating new ones as we get situated in our new home, our new town, and our new lives here in Texas.

Traditions are important.  Not simply because they tend to keep us tied into the past, but they allow us to remember some of the most important things in our lives.  Traditions are different for each person, and their level of importance to each person is really based on the memories that they either create or in some cases bring back to you.  Even though there are some traditions that we no longer adhere too, they still linger in our thoughts of times gone by, and what those times meant to us.  As I sit here to write this morning I am beginning to feel a shift.  This shift is much needed, and it is something that I have anticipated for quite some time.  Even though this shift will surely see some change in things, it will not alter what has taken place, nor will in nullify many of the traditions that I have held on to in life.

Often in life we are encouraged to forget about the things that have gone by, and simply focus on the future.  While this does have merit, to a degree, let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Traditions often bring us to a place where we remember happier times.  Traditions allow us to step back and simply enjoy moments where we can forget about all that has happened and simply enjoy the moment we are in.  It seems as though that most people during this time of year are able to forget about the turmoils of life, and simply enjoy those happier moments.  What we need to do is not wait until the end of each year to live this way.  Why not allow the upcoming new year to be the breakout year when all you focus on is you.  Focusing on you is not selfish, for in many cases focusing on you is a very selfless act.  I've written about this in the past, yet many seem to think that when we think about ourselves we are simply saying that we are the most important thing going on around us and nothing else matters.  Realize that if you can not accept all that you are, you will never be able to provide your gifts to the rest of humanity, and in reality that is why you are here in the first place.  I know this may seem a little off topic, but trust me I will bring it back together in a very coherent way, and you will thank me later for sharing all of this.

2020 is right around the corner, and with each new year many people will profess that this is the year that they will change things up.  I see it on social media already, people bemoaning what a travesty 2019 was, and how there is hope for better things in 2020.  People have made a tradition of pressing past the current year, jumping ahead to the next year, and on and on it goes each year.  Hey, I fall prey to the very same thing, thinking about the next year, but what I don't do is forget all the good that has happened, and how important it is to live in all the goodness.  We hold on to traditions because they tend to make us feel good.  Traditions bring back happy memories.  Let's be real, are you ever going to hold on to a tradition that only creates hurt and pain?  Your tradition at the end of each year should be to hold on to each lesson that was learned, even if there was pain and hurt associated with the lesson.  Your tradition should be to find the joy in each situation you went through during the past year, and focus on that joy.  Your tradition should be to shed the skin of others expectations, and simply wear your own skin.  If you attempt to be something you're not in this upcoming year, you are going to be stepping right back to the tradition of bemoaning the previous year.

If you want to change things up and create a new tradition for you and those around you, start by accepting the real you, the authentic you, the unique you.  Start 2020 by seeing more clearly than ever  before who and what you are.  As we look beyond tomorrow, we can't forget about yesterday, but yesterday can't be a chain around your neck, holding you back.  Here's one warning about traditions:  if they are holding you back from being who you were meant to be, then get rid of them.  Traditions should bring joy and happiness, never remorse of worry.  Traditions should remind us of happier times, and never put us in a place where we slip into despair.

What I desire for each of you this next year is that you will focus on you.  By doing this, you will position yourself to be of greater good for those around you.  What I desire for each of you this next year is that you will experience life to its absolute fullest and that joy and happiness surround you every moment of every day.  What I desire for each of you is that you discover more about your True Destiny, and that you begin your journey of discovery, no matter where it takes you.

Traditions are great, they are fun, and they are memorable.  Why not create some new ones this holiday season, ones that will focus on what is most important to you, and to those around you.  I leave you with this:  may life be exciting, may joy be your focus, and love be the driving force behind all that you do.  Feel the excitement, live in the joy, and spread the love.  If you will do this, then your new traditions will flow, and they will come naturally to you, and most importantly, they will last for a very long time.