A Universal Shift

If you would have told me this was how 2020 was going be, I'd probably have set my expectations a little differently...

Lately I've been listening to a ton of podcasts that were recorded earlier this year and they all talk about either having a 2020 vision, that hindsight is 20/20, and/or that 2020 is a year of growth and transformation for us to create the life we're after. It's almost like they were preparing us for a shift without even knowing it. Hang with me on this one...

As much as this pandemic has changed our everyday lives, what if we took the time to think about it a little differently? A shift in perspective. I'm by no means downplaying or diving deep into all that's going on in the world, but rather challenging myself to think differently to see how this can (and is) changing my world.

There has literally never been a time in my life that I've spent this much time with my husband, like ever. Being part of the military, he's missed out on a lot of firsts with our girls, events, vacations and holidays, but now, we are enjoying all the firsts together with the baby and the big girls. We are also learning so much about our girls, the ways they learn best, the things they like and dislike, and having a lot of really fun conversations about all kinds of different things - and we aren't distracted by the busyness of life so we are really truly listening.

Somewhere along the way, we've wandered away from the things that matter most and we needed something big to pull us back into alignment. This pandemic has completely changed how we work, how we learn, and how we live our everyday lives. At first I believed we should try and adapt to this "new normal" but as time continues to pass, I truly believe this is a shift so big that we won't actually go back to "normal" but instead create a new version from all the lessons we've learned. We will all look back and remember the year 2020. Change is never easy, pretty, or simple. But a shift in mindset will help us to find the positives.

Here's what I've learned (or re-learned during all this time at home):

• I set the tone for how my children respond and react to well... everything.

• Time is so precious and it passes so quickly (and slowly all at the same time!)

• Living slow makes my heart so full.

• Being plugged in to social media and news outlets makes me anxious and pulls me away from my core values.

• Self-care is more important now than ever before.

• I always have a choice in how I choose to respond.

• I still love my husband even with both of us having to work from home.

It's a bit like a gratitude list that I can fall back on during the hard days, because yes, there are still hard days even when we're trying to keep it positive. Don't get me wrong, I wish it was all sunshine and roses all the time, but that's never realistic. What is though, is how we react to the world and people around us. Don't ever underestimate the power of kindness and positive thinking!

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~ Henry David Thoreau