A work in progress.
1. I need to spend more time with my family - I was too caught up in work before and didn't prioritize this enough. Time is precious, especially when your kids are in/headed off to college.
2. I can actually cook, and enjoy it - I used to see cooking as a chore and something to avoid, but it feels good to make something delicious and enjoy it with my family.
3. Talking on the phone isn't something I should be avoiding - I have rediscovered I actually like to talk on the phone! Zoom conferences or FaceTime even better! It feels good to connect with people and text or email isn't a substitute for voice-to-voice or, even better, face to face (in future, of course!)
4. I love my home - Before now, it was a place I didn't really stop to look around and appreciate much (which is wild considering how much I have to work to afford this mortgage). All of my hard work to feather this nest has been worth it. And I'm thankful to have a home that is comfortable and a yard that lets me enjoy nature, too.
5. I still really love my work - Just before this, I'd been feeling really burned out. This time has reinvigorated me, I've had to innovate, pivot, juggle, and engineer solutions for my clients. I'm clearer, more strategic and excited about work than I have been in years.
6. I am thankful to work from home - I've worked from home for years now, and that has made this time so much easier for me. I am so blessed to have a career and business I can pursue from home. I realize that many people aren't as fortunate and others are having to make difficult adjustments right now.
7. I need to be more engaged as a citizen - Before this time, I had been slowly waking up to this, but now I see it clearly. I don't think that our government (at the national level and perhaps even closer to home) is looking out for us. I have been too trusting. I need to be more informed on all issues and use my voice and my vote. I am appalled at our current leadership. We all deserve better.
8. I'm less of an introvert than I thought - I really love my friends, miss them, and need them more than I thought. I think I have had some trust issues and insecurity around friendships up 'til now. I'm ready to shed that, lean in and really connect with and make time for my tribe.
9. I don't need to chase busy, and I don't need to feel guilty for taking time to rest and reflect - This has been such a tough one for me up until this time. I've always felt guilty if I take a break from work to go outside. Had issues just 'being' versus doing. I think because I'm becoming more comfortable with who I am, I am more comfortable "being" more. A work in progress for sure.
10. I have taken so many things for granted - groceries at the store, Amazon Fresh deliveries, the freedom to move about when I want and where I want, seeing friends, my clients, my work, a good economy, the future. In this time, my gratitude practice and prayers take longer and longer each day. Mostly the gratitude, though there is a lot to pray about right now. I often fall asleep 30 minutes into my gratitude practice. There is so much to be thankful for.
11. I love nature - While I still am not itching to go camping anytime soon, I really love and appreciate nature more than I thought. I finally have been really looking at the sky and the clouds. I've truly had my head down and nose to the grindstone for so long that I didn't do that before. I'm so happy to see news stories about dolphins swimming where they didn't before. To see the sky over China is more clear. To see the world healing, even a little bit. I need to make sure I do my part, whatever that is, to support this healing.
12. I am excited to see people and communities coming together and helping each other, all over the world - The videos of Italians singing from balconies bring me to tears of joy. I love seeing and experiencing connection. I want this to keep happening after this time. I want to figure out how to encourage that.
13. I am loved - By being more in touch with my family, I have felt more love than ever before. I've had the blessing of friends reaching out and showing me so much love. I didn't really let that sink in before. Now I'm basking in it.
14. I want to be, and project, who I am now, unabashedly - Not worrying about silly things like how I look, how much I weigh, if I'm wearing "the latest fashion," or doing the "cool thing." I want to express love to people when I feel it, which is a lot. I'm doing it and going to keep doing it. I want to speak the truth. I want to have a voice. I want to get bigger, louder, and love harder.