I’ve always been a very nostalgic person and find it hard to look forward, instead looking to memories of my childhood, or just of an eventful last year. Add to this, the prospect of a glorious warm summer ending and of life switching up a gear in September, and here it is…

A phone notification just before the new year made me pause to reflect on our obsession with consuming, scarcity, and distraction: the constant quest to get more, follow more, and worryingly….to be more. My recently posted Instagram photo now had 50 likes. This doesn’t sound important and was just another notification, but sometimes, my infrequent posts are reactive or come from a place of vulnerability, so anxiety can creep in.

Right now, I think people are truly feeling the full weight and uncertainty of the world, perhaps without leaning into, or shining enough light on their own beautiful courage. 

I wrote a poem titled “A message from courage”—it was one of those creations where the words literally fell out of my soul as I was connecting deeply to others’ hardships, losses and grief, while also working through my own personal shifts. Added to this, as a work colleague and I talked about just last week, nothing really feels normal—it’s like one unfamiliar event happens or uncertainty looms, only to approach even more chaos. 

There’s a new rule at my gym: Five burpees for any words of self-deprecation. Fitting that my coach wrote “Obstacle or opportunity? You decide” on the whiteboard recently. These words really struck a chord with me as I battled to stand a front squat up that felt easy six months ago. Instead of walking away beating myself up with some harsh words of irrational disappointment, I thought about all the things I didn’t think would be possible a year ago (not just in the gym). It’s all about perspective I’ve heard…and for once, I think it is.