There is something that I love about a new year. I love the idea that there are so many possibilities that exist. For me it’s not about setting goals or resolutions but instead to be open to what could be. As January came to a close, I thought about what transpired and what insights that I gained.

Below I share how the transition into a New Year brought new insights into giving myself grace, trusting in something greater than myself, pathways to develop relationships, and a potential new career. All the while continuing to foster my creativity in new ways. Read on to find the top 5.

1. Grace

Giving myself grace. I’ve never been one to set New Year resolutions. I thought for 2021 I’d start with a vision board showcasing all of the good things that I desire to bring into my life this year. Some of these intentions included a meditation practice, daily yoga, and a desire to get up an hour earlier everyday. I don’t know about you, but I thrive on routine. This helps me to feel purposeful and accomplished. What initially looked like yoga, meditation, and rising an hour earlier EVERYDAY, looked more like doing each 1-3 times a week instead to start and building up to the “everyday” goal. To give myself grace, if the things I set out to do that day didn’t happen. After all, there is always tomorrow.

2. Other Avenues for Friendship

This step is one that I want to adopt in 2021. New ways to make friends. We moved to the Pacific Northwest during the winter of 2020. One of the things I really wanted to focus on with moving to our new location was to cultivate new friendships. I new exactly HOW I was going to facilitate new connections. I planned to host cooking classes in my home and join a couple Meetup groups to meet other like minded folks. With the onset of Covid, social distancing and massive closures the cooking classes never came to fruition nor did the Meetup Groups. So, I remained open and I pivoted to join an online Facebook group called Soul Space that aligned with two of my interests, magic and intuition. In this group I’ve met so many lovely people, two of which I speak to almost everyday, Tiffany and Daniella. Both offer a wealth of insight to subjects such as the spiritual things & woo, business, family, and life in general. Tiffany is a photographer specializing in boudoir and social media brand management. She is hard working and helps women to feel empowered in their own skin. Her work is phenomenal. You can find out more about her at www.lanzamanage.com or follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lanzamanage/ Daniella is an Intuitive Energy Healer. Meaning, she can channel healing energy through the energy systems ( or Chakras) of the body to facilitate healing. If one on these areas becomes unbalanced you will feel discomfort in your life and this is where an Energy Healer comes in. She is very gifted. Some of her services include intuitive energy healing, spiritual mentoring, channeled messages from Spirit and so much more! Her website is www.daniellaquartucio.com and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/intuitiveenergyhealingllc/

If I didn’t pivot in the way I had intended to meet people, I never would have made these connections.

3. A New Career

I believe we are moving out of an old paradigm of thinking about work and career. I welcome this change. Back in 2019 I felt the pull the make a career change from Administrative work, 9-5 into something more flexible. Being that my husband is Active-Duty Military means that we move locations every 1-3 years. This lifestyle is challenging in all sorts of ways. I wanted to stay gainfully employed with each new move instead of having to start over in every new location. Through a few channels and research I found Virtual Assisting. I REALLY wanted to investigate this career path even more and came across 90Dayva Started by a military spouse, the founder offers this course to help women and men work from anywhere in 90 days or less. I saw this program as the perfect segway into starting a new career in virtual assisting. So far it’s been working out great! One of the things that I love about working remotely is the freedom and flexibility that I have in my schedule. And, I can easily apply my past 5 years of administrative experience to my remote role. The best part is I will be fulfilling my desire to be working during our next transition.

4. Creativity is my Medicine

Moving into our house, I took over the guest bedroom and transformed it into a studio. My husband built me a cutting table and bench with shelving and cubby holes to house all of my supplies for sewing, painting, yarn art etc. I spend a few hours everyday in my studio. Creativity is my medicine. Anytime that I am feeling icky or off, I come into my studio to recenter. In 2020 I fulfilled my dream of sewing a quilt and opening an Etsy Shop to sell my sewing creations. My creativity took off in the month of January. I continued to sew and become familiar with my new sewing machine, a Baby Lock Presto II. I’ve made potholders, scarves, quilt blocks, coffee cozies, and pillows. I finished projects that fell by the wayside during Christmas and I re-thought about the products that I want to offer in my Etsy shop moving forward. I will be incorporating more of my Cricut designs with my quilted items and working with the intention of color and healing crystals. If you’d like to check out my shop you can here, SewGoodniss https://www.etsy.com

5. Prayer is Powerful

Our area is rural with lot of tall pine trees. Looking back over the year prior, I’d sometimes sit on our back patio under the blanket of trees, listening to the wind move through the branches, see the sunlight trickle down through to the forest floor. It has always been so comforting to listen to Mother Nature not only in my backyard but elsewhere. In the mid-month of January our area encountered an intense windstorm that took out a lot of power, over $100,000 people, as well as many downed trees. We were one of those households. The night of this storm I awoke to the wind. It was so loud and I could hear it through the open window of our bathroom. I didn’t necessarily feel afraid but I decided to say a prayer anyway. I prayed to Arch Angel Michael and envisioned our house being enveloped by his blue and white light. I sometimes pray to Arch Angel Michael when I’m looking for protection. Not 15 minutes later, my husband and I heard what sounded like boulders tumbling down our roof and a rumbling vibration. As we jumped out of bed, he looked outside of our tiny bedroom window at what looked like a tree, laying perfectly on the patio between the house and his shop. When we moved into the kitchen area with our flashlights we could see the branches of the tree laying flush with the side of our house blocking us from getting out. In that moment, I remembered my prayer, and I started to cry. How could it be? How could this tree miss our house? When it fell it took down a carport, woodshed, and barbecue. We gathered that the rumbling vibration was the tree being uprooted and as the tree was falling, it was turning and the loud noise that we heard on the roof was in fact, the branches scrapping down the roof surface before coming to rest on the patio. We both feel so fortunate that something was looking out for us. Looking back over the pictures, I can’t believe that it didn’t fall on the house. This experience only reinforced my belief in prayer.

I’m sure moving forward, February will bring it’s own unique twists to this new year. It may not be a windstorm or the perfect schedule but I can feel what is possible for this month ahead. I’ll be turning 42 mid-month which will bring it’s own share of insights and light bulb moments. I’ll be looking forward to every single one.

What about you? What did you experience during the first month of 2021? I’d love to hear your stories.

😚