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Instead of a ‘New You,’ Reconnect With Your OG Self
No more New Year’s resolutions. I’m giving myself grace in 2021.
When I look back on the last 12 months filled with devastation and pain, Lucille Clifton’s 1993 poem “won’t you celebrate with me” comes to mind.
…here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.
Last month, as I waited for 2021 to arrive, I saw myself on that bridge, holding my own hand. Hugging myself. I am filled with gratitude, wonder, and other more complex emotions at just having made it through an unbelievable year of loss, struggle, and pain. Now, as we enter the first full week of the new year, I’m finding that the old clichés no longer fit.
We’ve all endured so much over the last 365 days that I suggest taking one more moment to celebrate the you that made it through, flaws and all.
Things I used to do? They didn’t feel right anymore as the calendar page turned. I had no real interest in making any new year’s resolutions. And I was so incredibly tired of hearing the expression “new year, new you,” a meaningless collection of words for any year but especially for one as difficult as 2020. This year, my intentions are different and my lenses are clear in a way they never have been before. We’ve all endured so much over the last 370 or so days that I suggest taking one more moment to celebrate the you that made it through, flaws and all.
The past 12 months broke all our routines and patterns, and stripped life down to the brass tacks. I learned more about myself than ever before; I came to realize what was truly important and what never was. I left 2020 with a new perspective on life. My needs are clear. My goals have shifted. Now instead of coming into this new year with the intention of fundamental change, I think 2021 is a year to peel back the layers of the “new yous” we’ve been trying to create all along.
