Last year was definitely a leap year. A hop, a jump, or a leap, people I have met have spoken of big and small changes. Since the salons are closed, they found themselves standing in the bathroom and taking scissors to their hair. In spite of it being risky, they quit their stable job. They planned their move out of the city. Bought something new, even though money was tight. They took breaks from their families with the purpose of recharging.
Throughout 2021 we will continue to process what happened, the uncertainty and worries that came into the light over the past year.
Yet I want to look ahead, or at least drive and power myself and others forward. Preserve the strength that arose from desperation and the contemplation you only find at the bottom. Because once we hit that, there’s a turn. I have recently learnt about technical analysis in markets and once you understand that whenever something goes up, it will always always have a corrective period. As in what goes up, must come down. At all times, it turns.
Like what my mum always used to say, go to bed and you will see it feels better tomorrow. There’s nothing like a new day to give you a fresh perspective. A new day to boost your confidence, fortify your thoughts, and see a problem with different eyes. It may seem like a strange expression, “different eyes”, since they don’t change, but we do.
So what are the leaps you will take this year? I’m not talking about goals like “I’m going to eat healthy” or “I will run a 10K this year”. Instead, what are your fears and how can you challenge them?
I have now been sick and injured for about two months, and as I sit at the kitchen table looking out at the world outside, my latest challenge is to be part of it. We are all waiting for life to resume, tours to go back on the road, and tickets to go on sale. Simultaneously we have to face the facts of the new normal and that we might never return to how it used to be. One synonym to resume is “restart”, and if I could offer a different perspective I would prefer to use this verb. Right now, as spring is kicking earth back to life, is a chance at a restart, back-to-school edition. Like when you came back from holidays and you weren’t sure if you’d still fit in. What if the other kids had changed… Well, I really hope that when we restart, others will see me and recognise I’m different. Because I have worked hard for a great deal of change, to reform my thoughts on how I want to live my life. My own giant leaps. What will be yours?