Reflections and Focus

It is truly hard to believe that as I write this it is December, I have a Christmas tree in my living-room and I am about to spend what to me will be my first real Christmas in France. Last year, I had spent much of December in the US with my children but left on Christmas Eve and arrived back on Christmas day so much of my Christmas was spent traveling. This year is so much different.

This year because I have some big trips planned including one with my children, I am staying at home. I am nesting, I ordered a new standing desk for my office the other day. I have decided that it is time for me to get cozy in my house, to set things up so my days are filled with ease and comfort.

It has been a busy and complicated year but what served me the most this year was every-time I felt overwhelmed by the big items on my list, or I was feeling afraid that I wasn’t going to know how to do something or I would do something wrong or in the wrong order…you get an idea of what that crazy voice sounds like in my head. When I found myself in those moments, I found that the best thing I could do was to take a walk with Paolo and ask myself one question. Do I know the next most important step that I need to take? Every time I did this, there was no doubt in my mind, I knew that step.

This little pause and refocus to the thing that I could do next was the thing that shifted me from feeling powerless against that voice in my head that wanted to throw everything at me all at one. I was able to shift into a state of feeling empowered, I knew what to do next, I could do that next step, that next step is what I would focus on and I would decide that just as sure as I knew that next step when I needed to get to the step after that I would know what to do then too.

This saved me from succumbing to powerlessness and overwhelm!

Then I found myself at the end of October with a familiar situation for me, whenever I finish a project my natural tendency is to look around and say, “what’s next”? That urge to do the next thing, the problem with this reaction is that there is always something to do and there always will be but it is this habit of moving to the next thing and the next thing after that that always had me feeling like I was living on some kind of proverbial hamster wheel.

This time I resisted, I choose to just take some time for walks, for coffee with friends, for writing, for some grace. It has been this state that has had me reflecting on this past year, the life changing decisions. that I made and how I am feeling about those now. The answer, pretty darn great!

Several years ago I took a course called Lifebook, this course had you look at what you wanted from 12 areas of your life, why you wanted those things, ending up building a detailed plan and structure to achieve the life of your dreams. I remember my first Lifebook, oh my goodness I had the plans and the lists, that first year living to that plan I was speeding through life accomplishing one thing after another. I remember talking to a friend who was also in Lifebook and I said to her that I was so busy that I found myself wondering when I was actually going to be able to enjoy my life.

In short order, I realized that for me, I was approaching this the wrong way. Over these past years I have shifted from a huge list of goals supported by daunting task lists each month to lose plans supported by to do lists to this past year a few important intentions and systems that ensure that those intentions are not very far from my consciousness. As I have adjusted to a process that works for me and my life, I haven’t accomplished any less but now I am actually living my dream life not looking at it as though it is a far away place that I will get to one day and I am living with the freedom to decide each day how I will spend my time, on what and with whom.

As I prepare for 2026, I am incorporating my human design more than ever in how I approach things. I have also noticed over this past year as I have been paying more attention to how the lunar cycles affect my energy levels, I am incorporating this knowledge into when I am planning to start new things or plan to wrap things up, when to reflect for input, etc.

My quarterly themes for 2026 are:

Winter: Softening, Healing, Identity Grounding

Spring: Emergence, Creation, Heart Opening

Summer: Connection, Joy, Family Healing, Identity Rebirth

Fall: Alignment, Expression, Stabilization

As I consider these themes I feel a flow of energy that I am intending throughout my year with focus areas such as integration, creating, and expression.

Questions to ponder in your favorite journal…

• Do I know the next most important step that I need to take to attain what I want in my life?
• Reflecting on your last year, what are the lessons that 2025 brought to you?
• Focusing on 2026, how do you want this coming year to feel? What words would describe the journey you wish to take through the year?

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Closing Statement

As I close out this blog and my journey through 2025, I have experienced loss yet again. A dear friend who has supported me in my life and business since 2004 passed suddenly a few weeks ago. Reflecting upon what this person meant to me, I became very aware that I felt a certain sense of comfort, support and safety just because I knew he was there. Today, I have a heavy heart and I keep his wife, children and his entire community in my thoughts. I hope that they are able to know that he will always be there for them even from the other side and in this knowing that it will provide ease as they adapt to this new world without him. Thank you, Bo, for all the years, for just being you! You will be missed my friend.

I wish all of you a very happy and powerful holiday season and the best of New Years! Please stay safe and let’s take care of each other whenever we can, we never know when it might be our last opportunity.