What a Year it Was | A Reflection on 2015

Following up on my last post, I wanted to share the process that I went through to reflect on 2015. It was a big year for me in more ways than one, so I knew I wanted to do a more deep-dive reflection on the year than I ever had before so I used Susannah Conway’s Unravelling the Year Ahead workbook.

I’m a longtime fan of Susannah Conway. I met her in person during her This I Know book tour and have taken her awesome Unravelling e-course. She released the workbook in December and this year when I do this same exercise, I’ll try to get it done ASAP. This year, the reflection happened in February. Really, it could have happened in March or April or even May. The process of reflecting is what’s important, not the when.

I wanted to have more of a workbook feel rather than leaflet pages so I went to FedEx Office and had the 33 pages printed on 11×17 paper folded it over and stapled it into a book. This way I was able to see the pages facing each other as I wrote.

I went through the Unravelling workbook pretty slowly. It took me about a week to finish. There is no need for rush in reflection. 

The workbook starts out with Unravelling The Year Behind and then moves into Unravelling the Year Ahead. Since both of those things are pretty meaty this will be a two part post.

A Reflection on the Highlights of 2015

• In 2015, with Light, my One Little Word, I honored the light inside me. Through meditation, mindfulness, and yoga. I let go of both mental and physical weight and felt lighter. I lightened the style in our home. I turned on my light bulb and applied for graduate school.

• In 2015, “Letting go” made a big impact. I let go of the persistent fear of failure. I let go of long held feelings of unworthiness. I let go of irritability with my kids and family.

• In 2015, I embraced meditation and creativity. Embracing those more quiet contemplative practices helped me recognize what I was holding on to and opened space for me to let go.

• In 2015, I felt grateful for my therapist, Melissa. I felt grateful for my strengthened relationship with my husband, Reza. They were my two biggest supporters as I plunged ahead by leaps and bounds last year and I am oh so grateful.

• In 2015, I was brave. I started this blog. I sat in meditation over 150 times. I attended mindfulness classes in-person at UCLA. I applied to grad school!!! I took a class at a community college after 11 years out of school. I took the GRE. I applied for the Simple Scrapper Creative Team.

• In 2015, I was surprised by my ability to change. I was surprised by the amount of encouragement and support I received through all the changes.

• In 2015 there were lots of smiles. My kids, writing, photography, and tea. Open, honest, connecting conversations of the heart with friends. A good GRE score and hitting submit on my UCLA application all put some pretty big smiles on my face.

• In 2015, I reached some pretty big conclusions:
  • I have an amazing support system. If I fall they will see me through it.
  • All of the strength, power, and confidence I need is already inside me.
  • I am a writer. I am creative.
  • I am aware. I care deeply about people.
  • I can do hard things, even as a Mom of two young kids.
  • Most important I learned I am love, I am loved and I belong. Everything begins with love.    

2015 felt like a SHIFT year. The recognition of my own inner light and then stepping into that on a daily basis has been transformative.

While all of this makes it seem like there were lots of ups there were certainly challenges.

A Reflection on the Challenges of 2015

• I am not my thoughts.

• I am creative and I am a writer, even when I’m scared, and even when I’m not writing formal posts or a book. If I am writing in my journal or even a heartfelt social media post, I am creative and I am a writer.

• Even when I’m not making scrapbook layouts on a regular basis if I am taking photos and sharing words about them, even on Instagram, I am creative and I am a writer.

• Every day is a new day. Every day, and in fact every moment, gives us  a new opportunity to make a different choice. Every moment is a new moment to become aware.

• I am a good Mom. I love my kids. I love my husband. I love myself.

Describe 2015 in 3 words: Awareness, Bravery, Hard-work

My book title for 2015: Transformational Awareness

In addition to completing the Unravelling workbook, I received some great reflection graphics from some of my favorite websites: Instagram, Goodreads and Jetpack for WordPress (a WordPress site stats plugin). I’m sharing them here as: (1) a reflection on my memory keeping and vulnerability practice; (2) a reflection on my 2015 Reading Challenge; and (3) a reflection on my 2015 as a writer/creative at Mindful Memory Keeping.

Instagram: Best Nine of 2015

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAAWRpkOLn2/

Goodreads: My Year in Books

Jetpack for WordPress: My Year in Blogging

So there’s my reflection on 2015. It was a beautifully amazing year. Stay tuned for part 2 when I look ahead to 2016!

Thank you for spending this moment with me. I am grateful for you.