2025 was the year of many changes for me. The most significant; my mother dying, which was sad but at the same time, I was no longer a full-time caregiver and guiltily it made me feel relieved and happy. It had been 3yrs of taking care of her, the slow and steady decline of her health and the increase of limitation on my life. It has now been 7 months and it’s time to begin again.

It was recommended to me to come up with a word which will represent what I want to embody next year. I tossed around many ideas; light, connection, purpose, published…but none of them sparked a flame within me.

I asked myself, what do I want to achieve? Achieve made me feel exhausted. This particular word takes me back to working in Corporate where I was constantly having to live under another’s motto, rules and deadlines. I’m fortunate to be able to work independently now. Having no limitations is scary in its own right. I no longer have any excuses as to why I’m not living my best life!

As the grief and weight of my mother’s death lifted I began to have an awareness to how much I’ve neglected myself during this caregiving phase. I look and feel tired and have unfortunately, gained weight. I can say it’s perimenopause and the stress, which does contribute, but really it was not forcing myself to continue to do yoga, stretch, walk and eat really clean.

I attended a yoga class a few months ago and I was so nice to be on the mat. The harmonium, the incense, the community, but then I went to twist, and I could no longer deny the extra weight. There wasn’t any negative self -talk. It was more, “ok body, thank you for taking good care of me while I was stressed out, I love you, now I will take care of you again.”

Only last week the word “Lean” landed. This word covers it all for me! Lean body, lean in, lean mind, and lean environment. At the good advice of space doula, Dorena Kohrs, I’ve already tackled taking all the holiday decorations down, decluttered, and gave my home a good clean to prepare for the new year. 10 Powerful Feng Shui Tips to Prepare for the New Year

I have also decided to create a gratitude/intention jar to keep my mind focused. Along with pretty decorations and statements like “living my best life,” I’ve also taped on the bottom the phrase “I am lean” to infuse the energy into the jar. Throughout the year I will use Post-It notes to write out moments of gratitude and where I “leaned in.” My husband is participating as well! Then on New Years Eve we will dump out the jar and read all the precious moments we sometimes forget about. I’ve done this in the past and found it to be very moving.

What word will you choose?

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Happy New Year!

All my best,
💜Tracey