The sun has already set on 2012 in the Windy City, and the cold night's only going to get colder. It's my first time celebrating the New Year in Chicago, and I get to ring in 2013 on this frigid night with some good friends I hadn't even met a year ago. 2012's been one of the most interesting and full years I've had so far, and I can only imagine 2013 will have a few surprises up its sleeve as well.
I can't look back on 2012 and try to label it a good or bad year or anything that simplistic. There's no way I can summarize or lump together a collection of 365 days that took me many new places and through many new things. It's been hard but rewarding, exhausting but clarifying, surprising and exciting but predictable in some ways. I can say with all honesty I'm glad it's over, just due to the sheer amount of energy and endurance it took to get through it all - but at the same time, I know the year that we all just passed through doesn't just vanish into the past once we hit January 1st. There are things I started, things I ended, choices I made, and choices I put on hold during the last year (years, really) that will shape the next year I'm about to leap into.
Knowing that takes away any pressure that could build up as the new year slips into place. I'm hoping to hold onto that renewing, refreshing, joyful feeling that comes with the promise of a new year while still remembering that there doesn't need to be any pressure to superhumanly change and improve everything about my life in the next 365 days.
On this night that I'm look both backwards and forwards, reconciling the lessons of 2012 with the hope of 2013, here are the top 5 things I learned this past year - lessons I want to carry with me on our next rotation around the sun:
5) Sometimes your perspective is more important that your circumstances.
This last fall was probably the hardest time I've gone through yet. It was often exhausting, draining, confusing, and packed with too many commitments. I have never been so anxious for so long before, and it made me pretty miserable. About halfway through the semester, I finally started adopting a healthier perspective on life (i.e. did I really think straight As matter anymore? Oh wait...they never mattered as much as I thought they did..). I relaxed more and reminded myself what really mattered - God, the people in my life, health, peace, my real purpose, just to mention a few. The billions of little things that were pulling me down started to lift because I stopped letting them outweigh their real importance.
4) Sometimes your circumstances matter more than your perspective.
Contradictory? Yes. Truth? Absolutely. My life's circumstances this past year may have been overwhelming at times, but they were also more than manageable. They seemed super hard because I let myself believe they were. My perspective was so off-kilter that it started to affect my reality. For example - I'd feel stressed so I'd convince myself I needed a day off from my schoolwork, and I'd end up making my next day even more stressful. My pessimism made my circumstances even worse. If I'd just taken a good, hard look at what my situation was instead of focusing on how overwhelmed I felt, I would've realized things were just fine.
3) When you're feeling sorry for yourself, suck it up and go spend time with someone.
Clear enough? I hope you like tough love this New Year's eve:) Isolation can breed all sorts of trouble. It's important to be able to spend time alone (especially for all you introverts out there), and being alone can yield a lot of good things. Praying and meditating on God needs to be done by yourself sometimes; you need time to reflect on the crazy things life's throwing at you; maybe you just need to be away from someone for awhile. But always choosing isolation when you're in pain or overwhelmed is the equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot when you've already shot yourself in the hand. Learn to trust the people you love with the pain you carry. They can help bring you out of that dark place, and they'll remind you the most important thing we know - that we're worth loving.
2) Eat peppermint patties every day. Every. Single. Day.
So peppermint patties are one of my favorite things. A lot of my friends have learned to associate them with me by now. (Which means they often give them to me. Bonus!). They're amazingly delicious and relatively healthy...I mean, as far as candy goes. Some of you may not like them. Fools. The point is, make sure you do things that bring you joy every day. Even if it's as small (yet wonderful) as biting into a York Peppermint Patty, don't ever give up on pursing things that bring your life and joy.
1) Always stay open and listening for what comes next.
Whether things are good or bad, they will change. Always. Transition is one of the only things we can count on. That may seem frightening, but it's only frightening if you start putting your hope in temporary, tangible things. You want to hear one of the most amazing things about humans, about you and me? We're adaptable. We transform. We choose what we like from our environment - the life around us, the people around us, the books we read, the food we eat, the jobs we choose, the hobbies we pursue (the list just keeps going) and we make them part of ourselves. Which means we can became some pretty amazing creatures. God was quite clever when he made us so flexible and adaptive - He gifted us with the capacity to become people who brought love, life, healing, peace, joy, and so much more(!) to this world.
And that is what gives me hope as we roll into the new year. Bring it on, 2013 - I'll take what's best from you and make it part of me.
