Taking Stock

Here we are, at the start of another year. In Numerology, this is a one year - that of new beginnings. Each of us are in our own personal years (1 - 9), and that intention integrates with the energy of 2026 - new, fresh, bold. 

If you believed that you are free to choose your own path, what would you leave behind you? If you were given three things to carry forward in your proverbial backpack, what would they be? Over time (and a lot of therapy/healing sessions), conditional love is something I would leave behind me. Living under the scrutiny or weight of performing or transacting with others to earn love is not anything I am interested in anymore. It showed up for me as deep unworthiness tropes paired with hustling. I worked incredibly hard to exceed people’s expectations so I would be “worth” something, anything. 

But external validation is a condition that doesn’t last. It doesn’t nestle into your soul like a snuggled up kitten. It is steam - here for a minute and then evaporated back into the ether. It feels good, that dopamine hit, but the moment it is gone, we are left wanting for more. 

I will also leave my ego’s driver’s license in the rearview. She has spent plenty of time driving and convincing me that all the world’s a guillotine and I, a head. I don’t need to build up negative networks in my brain. I don’t want to live as if everything is a threat. There are many an existential threat for me to choose from, so I will take actions in the environments and networks I am fortunate enough to belong to be additive without expectation. 

Carrying forward? Joy. All the silly seeds of it I witness in the everyday. The tears of laughter with people I love and who love me. Creativity. All the ways I get to see something new, repurposed, and upcycled. Whether that is in my Macguyver dinners or words on a blank page - creating is necessary for my soul. The last… Curiosity. If I keep my hands and heart open, I know I will be surprised. Some experiences I won’t understand…yet, and others I will feel deep in my bones as intuition smiles. 

Conditions are heavy and really hard to keep straight. I hope you will join me and put at least one down. Life, in all of its shadows and lights, ebbs and flows, uphills and downhills is asking of us to be present as we are in it. Listen deeply to intuition to make any adjustments to get us closer to living out our soul’s purpose more days than not. And smile genuinely at ourselves and those around us. 

What’s in your backpack?