A Deep Breath of Acknowledgement

Wherever you stand today is worth a deep breath of acknowledgement — and appreciation, for that matter. Wherever you stand today is different from where you stood at the beginning of this year, and there have been losses and gains for you to be where you are today. This is true of any year, but each year feels as if it builds on the foundation of the years before — as if it is a level up that could not have been navigated without the knowledge, skill, resilience, contrast and appreciation of the years before it. Each year brings learning, awareness and decisions that are unique to it.

As the eleventh month of 2022 draws to a close, and the rounding out of another year begins, taking a deep breath of acknowledgement for where we’ve been, what it’s required of us and what we’ve learned from it is how we ensure we mark the passing of the chapter of this year. Appreciation allows us to receive the gains, the lessons and the takeaways.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” He’s also the man who said, “There is nothing permanent except change.” Both of these quotes and the combination thereof communicate the constant movement of time, with or without our willingness. If we imagine this year as a river that we’ve stepped through, has your river been deep and rapid with uncertain footing on stones that have…