2023 Is All About Alignment

Happy New Year, my friends! 🥳

I hope you had a wonderful couple of weeks, whatever you celebrate (or don't), along with some much welcomed down time.

It was a busy couple of weeks for me back in California, traveling from Costa Rica. Still, I enjoyed every minute of it (even if I had to buy a sweatshirt at LAX because I was freezing 🥶. I have nothing to keep me warm in Costa Rica).

As someone who thoroughly enjoys the holidays, I even welcomed the colder weather because it felt much more like Christmas.

This trip was also validation for me with my recent decision to move back to the states. I had originally been considering Oregon or Washington, but the point of moving back is to be closer to family.

So back to Northern California, I go, but more on that later.

I fully intend to enjoy my last month living in Costa Rica (I'll definitely be back). I have a friend visiting in a week and a half, and I will squeeze in as much pool and beach time as possible before I go (and possibly one more catamaran cruise).

I'll share more about what I've learned living in Costa Rica next week (and how it's changed my life, all for the better), but today I really want to talk about my word for the year.

Alignment.

To bogart Oprah's phrase, "what I know for sure:"

What I know for sure about alignment is that everything in my life seems to flow when I make alignment a priority.

Even mishaps become fun.

Here's what alignment looks like for me (I was going to share the Google definition but they were boring... and one even included a political reference which, what the what? Alignment is the last word I'd use for politics. Moving on...).

Let's break this into two elements:

• Tangible

• Intangible

The tangible are the things you can do to help get into alignment, and the intangible are the things you can't necessarily see but are still things you have to do...err, choose.

Intangible is much less about outward action.

The tangible things I do to get into alignment:

• Meditate: after years of my therapist suggesting this; I am finally a complete and total convert. I don't care if it's 6 minutes or 16... it always helps. Add in a few deep breaths, and it's like magic. ✨

• Rest: nothing throws me out of alignment faster than pushing myself when I need rest.

• Create: it can be a blog post, newsletter, doodle, or journal entry. Taking the time to create lights me up.

• Connect: reach out to chat with someone who supports my soul - whether it's a catch-up, to get some guidance, or just for shits & giggles. The dogs count with this one, too... nothing but pure love.

The intangible things I do to get in alignment:

• Trust: Holy moly, this can be tough, but it really is a choice. When I find myself struggling with this, I remind myself that the alternative is stress and worry... which never solves anything anyway.

• Let it go 🎶: Cue Elsa...(sorry if you now have that earworm stuck in your head, but it's a great song). I think this deserves another holy moly... the shit I have wasted time and energy hanging onto or fretting over. FFS. It can be as simple as "roof over my head? Is everyone healthy? Do I have food to eat?" Then all is well.

• Set boundaries: This is still a work in progress (well... it all is), but creating and setting boundaries is the best gift you can give yourself. Do it.

• Seek joy: Find joy anywhere you can. I have a silly voice I talk to my dogs in and use as if I am them (only when family is around). I amuse the bucket out of myself. I even had a fantastic day traveling before Christmas... because I expected to.

• Be present: Now is all that matters. No more borrowing trouble about what "might" happen (or what already happened). I also try not to multi-task whenever possible (no matter how well I *think* I can do it... which really, I can't. You should see me trying to type and talk!).

None of these things are earth-shattering, new ideas, secret hacks, or challenging to implement.

It really comes down to choosing myself first.

Deciding that I'm responsible for how I feel, respond, and move through the world.

Life hands us enough heartache and struggles that we have no control over... why add to that when we have a choice?

And when in doubt, I remind myself of all I have already been through and survived. I've got this. (And now I have this stuck in my head... you're welcome 🤣).

Happy 2023!