resolution rest
my word of the year and new places for us to meet
Sweet Circle - welcome to 2025. This year at midnight, the ball dropped and confetti made from hand written wishes and resolutions, was hand tossed out over Times Square. I watched on television like a real New Yorker, of course!. As a kid, I would fight like mad to keep my eyes open till the big moment. It always felt so official. In that that split second of the count down this year….5,4,3,2,1…..
I had a sudden moment of longing to call my folks.
It has been 31 long years since my Mom, Ellen, died. It has been about a decade managing my Dad’s memory loss and getting to ring him. So, if the new year is tinged with the bittersweet, even as you may be moving into the new — I see you. Some new years feel more fresh and shiny than others.
I have been swirling in the many and myriad of ideas and ideals about reflections and resolutions. Over the years I have had a few revelations about them. I am not the biggest fan.
Sure, I like dedicating myself to the good stuff. The sweet space, time, peace and pause I believe we all so deserve. Taking heed of what feels like a new open road. A clean slate. Fresh page. A look back to look ahead.
The best advice I can share? Set yourself up for success.
A friend suggested that January is for reflection and February is for resolutions. I dig this. You make the rules!
Dr. Samantha Boardman had an interesting take…forget resolutions and take time to reflect on questions. One that I love…what am I proud of? What vs. why invites curiosity and positivity. Could you then lean into more of what will make you proud?
Setting goals that feel like “GO” can help you tap into how the ideas make you feel. How do you want to FEEL this year? Making a commitment to a literal “mood board” will feel like a full body yes.
I have decided to dedicate 25 minutes a day in 2025 to reading. Goes faster than you think it does! Gretchen Rubin offered up her “25 for 2025” idea to list twenty-five things you would like to do by the end of the year. No right or wrong way to make the list. One her her suggestions was reading. I completed a few audio books already and today began Mel Robbins new release, “Let Them”.
MY WORD OF THE YEAR
Each year I think of a word that guides my year ahead. Last year was collaborate, the year before community. This year? BELIEVE! I am tired of scrolling social media and getting caught up in a tangle of compare and despair. A web of my own creation. When are we learning and leaning into what feels like growth and new adventures I am game. When are we just peering over the fence and thinking the rest of the world is winning? Well, that stinks of defeat.
I BELIEVE in sharing my gifts, words and work with the world. Eyes on my paper and my own back yard. It’s green and fertile and it’s mine. I BELIEVE in you too. Let me know if you have a word - or let’s BELIEVE together.
SWEET RETREAT
I am thrilled to be sharing TWO in person grief retreats. What a magnificent way to begin the year. Dedicating time and space away from your “day to day” on a grief tending journey is the profound healing I wish for each of you. Can you meet me there?
There is still time to sign up for Grief Camp at Kripalu. January 12-17. Learn more here. I will be joined by Meghan Riordan Jarvis, Allison Gilbert and Charlene Lam in co-facilitating this first of its kind gathering on this historic campus.
February 4-7, I will once again join author and grief therapist, Claire Bidwell Smith and an extraordinary team including movement therapist Kelsey Sawyer and Angela Schellenberg, trauma psychotherapist, for the Conscious Grieving Retreat, in Mill Valley, Ca.
A little about Substack Notes!
Notes is a new space on Substack for me to share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and more. I plan to use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, like a work-in-progress or quick questions. I also publish resources and tidbits on Substack Notes, and would love for you to join me there!
How to join
Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to barri grant | permission granted, you’ll automatically see my notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!
You can also share notes of your own. I hope this becomes a space where every reader of barri grant | permission granted can share thoughts, ideas, and interesting quotes from the things we're reading on Substack and beyond.
Why Substack Notes?
Fellow writers and readers are spending time in Notes for a variety of reasons.
The idea behind Notes is simple. Millions of people now participate in Substack as writers and readers—but much of this is built on long articles and essays. We now have a forum for dialoguing and sharing shorter posts.
I would love to meet more of you in Notes this year
My word: nourish! In all the ways!
I love the description of your own back yard. So relevant for me :).