On this final day of 2022, join me in taking time to reflect on what has been and on what remains.
Be grateful for it all,
for nothing is wasted
when you view it
or experience it as
fuel for your journey,
seed for your purpose,
water for your growth,
and building blocks for your inner joy.
Reminisce, prepare and give thanks.
One of the things I love most about spring is that its arrival serves as a tangible reminder that “not now” doesn’t mean “not ever.”
The sunnier and warmer days of this season are rewards for pressing through the previous months of darkness and cold – a season that was perhaps ordained to be a period of hibernation, rest and regeneration – a time to prepare for our longed-for successes, new opportunities or next level ahead.
As you lean into whatever this season brings for you, remember that most “overnight” successes have toiled in the winter of their own making for years and years – keeping their vision before them, getting up, pressing forward and saying “thank you” in advance, so that when their blessing or victory arrived, they could declare “Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you, with open arms.”
If you aren’t quite there yet, keep going and preparing. The good you do along the way won’t be wasted. It is watering your path, building your legacy and inspiring all you touch.
On this Valentine’s Day, join me on this worthy quest: Love yourself first so you can love others better.
Love all of your gifts and talents, but also all of your quirks and flaws. Love the ways and seasons within you that are both beautiful and less than stellar.
Love the innocent child you once were and the broken but blessed adult you’ve become. Love the “seasoned citizen” you’re growing into each day.
When you love you like that, it’s so much easier to selflessly care for, lift up, stand with, fully embrace and give to others.
So start anew, if necessary, to make sure you’re loving yourself, for yourself, just because. Doing so will allow the mutual love and respect that flows between you and others all the more special and all the more real.
Enjoy your journey, and appreciate as “loving hard” becomes easier by the day.
Reflect for a moment where you were this time last year, about a month before the world plunged head first into a pandemic.
I’m sure that for each of us there have been losses and gains, and some wonderful milestones and not-so-great moments; but the beauty of reality is that you’re. still. here.
Trust the timing of your life.
Take care of your heart.
Lean into joy.
And as you look back over the year, do as a wise dear friend of mine recommends: Take the “meat from the bones” and be grateful for the goodness. That’s what should remain.
You can’t declare you want something different yet follow the same routine; or pour new wine into old wineskin, or never try a new path or lane.
Find the courage to push past your comfort zone. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Elevate a long-held dream by making it relevant for today.
This is how Amazon transformed from a bookseller into an everything-seller;
how some real estate investors started the Airbnb revolution;
how fashion designers have become bestselling mask-makers,
and plastic companies now distribute millions of window and desk shields, to keep us all safe.
Hold true to your gifts, goals and integrity; but be willing to ideate and pivot, for such a time as this.
We live in a world that flits past the present moment while glorifying the future. Today, join me in choosing to buck that trend.
Lean into THIS moment, whether it is wonderful, amazing, challenging, scary or uncertain. Give thanks for it, knowing that if it has come into your existence, it has come for a reason – to teach you, heal you, strengthen you, reward you, prepare you or perhaps protect you.
Don’t be paralyzed by the noise in the world around you; focus inward.
Count it all joy and embrace your present, so that when you reach that place known as the future, you’ll be ready to experience, appreciate and celebrate all that it holds, too.
Do something today that reminds you of life’s goodness.
Dance like no one’s watching.
Perform a random act of kindness.
Tell those you care about how much you love them.
Laugh with others and at yourself.
Spend time embracing what makes you smile.
Say yes to one or two baby steps that move you closer to the vision in your heart.
Don’t have a vision? Say yes, then, to discovering what one could be, by spending more time with your thoughts and treasuring yourself for being the gem you are.
As Michelle Obama declares in her Becoming documentary on Netflix, there’s no “going back” to what our lives were yesterday. Our task – and opportunity – is to create a meaningful (and exciting) next chapter that allows us to evolve, impact others and enjoy ourselves along the way.
I’m what you call a rider. Not perfect by any means, but striving always to help those in my circle through thick and thin.
When you win, I’m celebrating the victory with you. When you suffer a loss, I’m holding your hand through the grief, even if only virtually.
It’s just Wednesday, and the losses are heavy this week in my family of friends, and (not that it really matters) none so far are COVID-related.
A loss is a loss. A life cut short cuts deep for those left behind to live with the void.
And in these times when we can’t drop by to sit and pray, to share a dish and kind word, or even attend a funeral or memorial service (except through livestream), many are feeling anchorless, and baffled about how to support others or find closure themselves.
What I’ve been leaning into is the truth of the only thing that endures: love. It is a river and a language and a bond that flows and speaks and connects us in ways we often don’t understand or can’t articulate.
Love leaves an imprint on our lives and in our hearts that, after a loss, grows into a powerful legacy.
When all else fails and nothing makes sense, we must hold onto the reality that love is the answer.
We must use our words to tell the hurting we love them, for words can be a healing force. That declaration can be followed by whatever acts of kindness we can muster in quarantine, whether a consistent text or call or sending a card, flowers or gift card, or adding the grief-stricken to our prayer list, or sitting on the phone and letting them talk.
As we go back to basics in so many ways during this pandemic, choose to make love your basic foundation, or increase its strength if it already is.
When you love yourself more, you’ll have a full well from which to give.
When you love others more, you’re helping fill their depleted tanks and shoring them up until they can stand again.
This week, I’m covering my dear friends grappling with deep loss in love and more love.
️And because love is neverending, I’ve got enough overflow to share with you, too.
Whatever you are facing today, know that I love you.
Lean on those closest to you and tell them if you need help. Focus on what is before you in this minute or this hour and just breathe. Trust God. And know that light eventually follows darkness. Always.
Life Untapped with Stacy Hawkins Adams 