We should listen to ourselves and think about how the words we use make us feel.
Case in point. “Year end.” I first started here this term maybe 10 years ago. At first, I strongly disliked it. I wanted to ignore it. Then I disliked it a little less and started reading about the ideas behind this term. I still didn’t like it. I still deleted more emails than I read, because of what they talked about year-end wise. Today, I still don’t like the term. It makes me feel we are going to dig a deep hole, chop the head off this beast of the current year and bury it deep. To be forgotten.
My goodness, is your life really that bad? Can you glean no amount, no matter how small, of goodness out of your year? How about the fact that you woke up every morning of that year? How about the delicious coffee, tea, or milk you started each day with? How about that gratitude habit you worked on last month? No matter where we are in life, there is something good to glean. Glean it! Treasure it in your heart! Look for more of it in the new year! Begin a collection!
This year I started remembering my own parents. They worked for themselves all but 4 years of my childhood. And they talked about closing a year out. Beginning mid-November, they would compile receipts and records to close out that year of business. Isn’t that a much gentler term? Close the year. It’s not going anywhere, It will be right back there in the bottom drawer. Handy to pull out and compare should the desire or need arise. So, this year let’s be kind to ourselves, gentler to our self-conscious. Let’s start checking in to learn how certain terms make us feel. When every label hits us in the throat, it becomes tiresome. Let’s scale back to gentler terms. In my home and business, I will be closing out 2024 with joy and beginning 2025 with peace.
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