A message of hope for the new year...

I don’t know about you, but this holiday season hasn’t felt entirely hopeful for me. I feel discouraged because of Covid, uncomfortable because of so many unknowns, sad because of pain many loved ones are going through, and overwhelmed because of too many choices & decisions to make.

As a person in recovery, this time of year usually is a bit harder because there are temptations and thoughts about drinking & binging that I typically don’t deal with. Alcohol and food seem to be everywhere around the holidays. In person, in advertisements, in social media posts….it’s inescapable. I have to keep my guard up more than usual, and it adds to the already exhausting nature of the season. Add complex relationships, financial fears, and family health scares into the mix too, and that’s where I’ve been lately.

I’m ready to say goodbye to this year.

It has been the hardest year I’ve been through personally. It’s not lost on me that I feel this way at the end of every year. So much growth, yet so much pain. Every year holds so much of both. I have no doubt 2022 will also have its fair share. But I have a feeling it’ll hold something extra, too.

That something? 

Hope.

I have no clue what the new year will ultimately bring, but I’m putting my faith in the potential and in the positives and in the prospect of hope on the horizon. 

We’ve come so far, and made so much progress. We must move onward. We must keep going. We must not lose hope.

Because as long as we have hope, I believe we have everything we need. There is so much power in hope. It can indeed be the thing that keeps us alive at times when we feel lost, broken, or in survival mode. It can be the way we get through, and it can become the way we grow to eventually thrive.

Here’s hoping for a very hope-filled year ahead!

PS. If you’ve been feeling a bit like I’ve been lately, I invite you to join me on a journey to develop a greater sense of hope. Whatever that might mean for you. Not a new year’s resolution or goal, but an honest attempt at cultivating & strengthening your hope. We can discover & create it, one day at a time. Please reach out if you’d like to. You’re never alone.