30 Dec Goodbye, 2022. Hello, 2023.

Goodbye, 2022. Hello, 2023.

I am entering the new year with these words…
Rest. Reflect. Reinvent. Refine.

I have been on a transformational journey. This year’s series of events – both tragic and magic – have made it a wild, memorable one.

To start, I am reveling in my transition from the Mother archetype stage into my Wild Woman (aka Enchantress) years. Perimenopause has been in full force, and I feel the journey thru Menopause will soon be complete. In the heat of this season (pun intended), I’ve read nearly 100 books, written and consumed hundreds of articles, and listened to even more podcasts on topics that stirred my Spirit and set my Soul – set ME – on an inspiring, magical path. 

The more connected I become to my authentic self and the more time I spend in and learning about nature, the less connected I am to the ways of this hustle-and-hurry culture. The headlines packed with lists of things “you must do” during the final week of the year no longer resonate with me. 

As I reflect on the last decade, I see the process slowly unfolding in front of me. Who I am today is who I was becoming all along… I see how key choices I have made are part of me now.

For example…

Ditching the senseless hustle (and disappointment) of “New Year’s Resolutions” and switching to choosing one word to guide me during the year. I started this ritual over a decade ago, and look forward to it every year. Want to join me? Click here

This is also an excellent time to review your “recurring appointments” and delete those that no longer sign to or serve your highest and best purpose. Do you still NEED to be at all of those meetings you’ve collected? Is there someone else better suited for that volunteer role you have held for years? Be honest with yourself and remember – if it isn’t your best YES, it is someone else’s. Don’t snag their opportunity out of obligation. Saying no serves others in ways you haven’t imagined!

Listening to my intuition – immediately. Confidently saying no to opportunities that don’t align with my values and reserving my energy and presence for the holy hell yes opportunities has been a journey. Our Creator gave us intuition for a reason, and I am no longer second-guessing it. I would rather be true to myself than do things perfectly. This is big for me.

Where have you ignored yours? What is your soul whispering to you? Is there a new passion project you want to start? Maybe it’s time to let something go and create space for divine flow in your life. Take some time to slow down and listen to that still voice inside. She is wise.

Believing in my sacred power to manifest.
Taking time to recognize and celebrate has carried me through some truly dark days, and it inspires me to stay in my flow, release control over the outcome, and learn the art of “being” as I step more into the life of my dreams. My go-to mantra this year was “Everything is always working out for me…”

I continue to work on worrying less about what people think about me and my choices and focusing more on living out loud and making myself proud. Being still and present in a hustle culture takes gumption and grit of another kind. There is more to be done here, and I look forward to the learnings ahead.

At this moment, when I close my eyes and listen to my body, she is calling for me to rest, renew, reflect, and recharge. I feel her craving longer soaks in bubble baths, snuggle puddles with Drew and Lizzie, and days filled with tea and books and fuzzy socks in rooms with warm candles, exquisite crystals, fluffy blankets, and divine cards. 

Want to know something I don’t crave or have right now?

I don’t have a business plan written for 2023.  *gasp*

I have started and stopped my vision casting process more times than I care to count… There is ZERO flow happening, which means it is not the time – for me.

I am listening.
I am staying in the flow.
I am releasing the pressure.
I am trusting the process.

Maybe you’re feeling this, too?

Beloved, there is no law or rule saying I need to plan my business rhythms by the traditional January-December Gregorian calendar. My tech is savvy enough to pull data for things that require a traditional quarterly schedule – like taxes.

While researching the origins of New Year’s Resolutions, I found this article and squealed with validation and confirmation. Here is what I read:

“The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year—though for them the year began not in January but in mid-March when the crops were planted.” 

MID-MARCH.

Another example showing how my intuition is spot on!

In reality, most of the business world was designed by a patriarchal system woven tightly with much more reverence for masculine energy, hustle, and drive than feminine energy, creativity, and flow. This isn’t “bad” – it is simply out of balance. This explains why it doesn’t work for me and never felt like it fit.

There is nothing written in stone that says we must work 50-52 weeks of the year to have a flourishing business. One decision I have written on my vision board is to plan my work around 42 weeks. Knowing I am reclaiming time and space for peace and play feels incredible. I believe I am a magnificent magnet for money. What I need to thrive can and will be attracted in as little or as much time as I want to invest. I want to shine brightly and not burn out or miss out on living a lusciously luxurious life.

I’m free to run my business in different cycles.
Seriously, who is going to stop me?

I love this quote my beloved goddess sister, Molly McKinley, shared in her book “The Intentional Business”:

“We should understand that our businesses are not separate from the natural world. The unity of a collective beat creates a deeply connected, rooted base that is difficult to dislodge. Our job as entrepreneurs and business leaders is to tune into this rhythm and to honor its wisdom.”

I will do something new and flow with the glorious seasons this year.

I will embrace my freedom to hibernate and enjoy hygge in the coldest winter months, plan and vision cast when the sun shines longer each day, and plant seeds that burst out with new ideas in the Spring. I will harvest the rewards all summer long and enjoy travel while celebrating life in the Autumn.  

Lunar Eclipse Eduardo Rodriguez Calzado (click to learn more about this artist)

I will look to the lunar cycles to keep me on track – honoring my family’s farming roots. Yes, I do subscribe to The Old Farmer’s Almanac! ;)

New Moon = New Beginnings
Waxing Crescent = Setting Intentions
First Quarter = Taking Action
Waxing Gibbous = Refine + Revaluate
Full Moon = Harvesting
Waning Gibbous = Practicing Gratitude
Last Quarter = Releasing
Waning Crescent = Surrendering

There will be moments I’ll need to step out of hibernation or plant/harvest something earlier than expected, but those will be the exceptions – not the law of the land.

On this day, I also reflect on my guiding word. 2022’s was SOVEREIGNTY.

A reclaiming of many things occurred amongst the drama and trauma of what I can easily say was one of the hardest years of my life. The word served me well. A couple of the letters had a necessary shift in meaning after the floods in our home, the death of our dear Papa T, intense health issues, and the birth of our Full Moon Baby in July – my Grand Niece, Zemira.

I know I did my best to embrace the flow and release what no longer served me or my highest purpose.

When I weave these reflections, feelings, words, and visions together, they create the most beautiful tapestry.

Manifestation of Light Eduardo Rodriguez Calzado (click to learn more about this artist!)

In my mind’s eye, it is filled with deep brick red threads alongside marigold, pumpkin, gamboge, peacock blues, and olive green – like this Eduardo Rodriguez Calzado painting!

In 2023, I will follow my intuition, experience bliss in the flow, AND run a flourishing, soulful business. I deeply believe these will harmoniously coexist.

I know it will involve intentional planning and action, along with sides of reflection, refinement, rest, and a delicious serving of grace on grace on grace.

If you’d like to join me on this journey, be sure to sign up here and start by choosing your guiding word along with soaking in some reflection time.

I am wrapping you in love and light as you say goodbye to 2022 and welcome in 2023 in your own special way.

xxoo,

ps. I am excited to share my 2023 Guiding Word next week – it is wonderful. If you have already chosen yours, please let me know in the comments below.