The summer, beach weather is coming to an end. The holidays are approaching with all the rich food and celebrations. There are points throughout the year that seem to push us to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, “Am I happy?” Personal image, internal emotions, support from loved ones, and the desire to care are put on display. A deep look into our mind, body, and soul reflected and stripped bare.
At the beginning
At the beginning of the year, we believe that we need to be better than we were the prior year. It is no wonder that gym memberships are at the busiest in January. The need to lose weight, get more muscle, look better than we once were. Resolutions of eating better, cutting out sugars, sweets, and carbs. To exercise more, get out of the house more, to walk or run in the next marathon. In April and May there is another push as the summer weather approaches. The advertising of getting into the swimsuit for the beach or pool. A chance to show off in hopes of finding love (or lust).
Emotional time of year
Don’t forget the emotions during the first half of the year. Beginning with the resolution of finding love this year. (Don’t get me started on Valentine’s Day.) The emotional rollercoaster we put ourselves through during the holidays can easily add other disorders like anxiety and depression into our lives. We reach summertime and our society adds to the strain. Friends that want to camp, go to the beach and party, hangout, or travel bring forth a level of emotions. Some are good though. A chance to break away from normal workday life to find some peace can help. If you are like me, I focus on how to make each excursion the best for others and stress on their happiness.
The beginning of the end
We are now at that point of the year where summer is over, and fall is coming fast. In fall, the holidays are appearing just around the corner. School is in session. So, we begin to focus on the holidays and the stress with each one. Halloween is that time of bringing your child to your neighbors in costumes for the candy and treats. A fun childhood time at night with friends. But this is the start…the heavy stress is coming.
Family time of year
Thanksgiving, in November for the United States, may feel like the forgotten holiday in retail, but for families, this is one of the biggest. Thanksgiving and Christmas bring faraway family and friends together. A time of remembrance for those we have lost along the way. These two holidays are ones that center around the family and friends in our lives. The love and support we share with each other.
It is also these two holidays that bring the heaviest strain. To make the days enjoyable for all, the hope built in two days of having loving family near and seeing friends to celebrate. For those that may not have family and friends in their lives, these two days bring heartache, loneliness, and depression. Those in our world that do not have much, the holidays may not be a warm time of celebration. Friends and family in hospitals, senior living homes, away from loved ones, may not have the chance to connect during this time.
At the end of the chapter
This brings us back to the start of the new year. A night of celebrating the end of one year and into the next. Where many people view the closing of one chapter in life and able to start fresh with a new view.
Feel good
Throughout the year, we push ourselves, ride the emotional roller coaster, spend time with loved ones, and in the end, we cannot wait to start it all over again. When, during this year, did we take the time to tell ourselves that we are good, beautiful, smart, loving, and when were we happy? Tomorrow is October, just three more months until 2021 comes to close. What have you done this year so far? Did you have moments these past nine months when you looked in the mirror and said, “I feel good today.”
Losing perspective
These are the moments in life that we need to make sure not to lose. I have mentioned to a few that I was worried about losing myself. Getting so absorbed in the life moving around me that my view in the mirror became clouded. Losing who I was, trying to remember if I was ever happy, having a chance in life to tell myself, “I am a smart woman. Beautiful inside and out. I am strong.”
Closing the chapter
Don’t let the chapter of 2021 come to a close with a piece of you missing. Give yourself a chance to come to light and breathe. Allow time to find yourself again, before the holidays pull you in. Celebrate with friends and family with love and support. And if you are in the middle of one of the hardest times in your life, hold onto that ounce of hope. Because you are strong. You are beautiful and you are loved.
With great warmth,
