It’s become a bit of a tradition that I share a New Year post with our fabulous Create Vibrant Health community. This year, in particular, I think many of us are ready to “turn the page,” so to speak. Before we get to some yummy New Year soul food, I have some exciting reminders for you:

Health Journey Reminders

Join our annual 21-day deep RESET.
The Body Sass® Cleanse Group Program—a 21-day detox and clean food program—is OPEN for registration through Mon 1/4 at midnight ET. Lose body fat, gain energy and boost your immunity. RESET and REJUVENATE your body, in the supportive environment of this annual New Year group cleanse. Learn more and register HERE.

Join a FREE educational webinar.
Have questions about the Body Sass® Cleanse? Want to learn more? This Wed eve 12/30 at 6:30, you can join a FREE Zoom webinar to:

• Learn more about the program via a short presentation
• Learn how you can do a DIY cleanse “lite” 
• Get your Q’s A’d during our live Q&A session

Click to HERE to register for the webinar, or copy and paste this link to your browser:
http://bit.ly/3nXWINv

If you can’t attend live, no worries. I will send out a link to the recording to all registrants, post-session, so go ahead and register. Hope to see you inside!

Farewell 2020

For many of us—for instance, those of us that didn’t live during the Great Depression—this year has been the most tumultuous and challenging that we’ve experienced. While many of us have had difficult years or periods-of-time in our personal lives, the context of a pandemic alongside of global political/social strife can feel quite unnerving. To say the least.

A quick 2020 recap:
New and unacceptable installments in our history of racism, an extremely contentious and dramatic US election, a lot of deaths from COVID, job and income loss, businesses going under, a messy economy, learning how to homeschool kids while also learning to work from home, loss of childcare, isolation and loneliness, up-leveled polarization, and riots and violence…contributing to a great deal of fear and uncertainty.

Oh, and we set an all-time record for named storms in the U.S.; had a pretty solid drought this summer; were plagued with hurricanes and forest fires; and are experiencing “unusual weather.”

You know all this. You lived it. And it was HARD STUFF.

The Silver Lining

First, I want to be clear that I am not downplaying that some really hard stuff went down in the U.S.—and on the planet that we all share—in 2020.

Yet over and over, clients and friends have shared with me their silver linings of this year. The list would be too long to share, but here are the…

Top Ten 2020 Silver Linings

1. I saw how out-of-control my life had become, and learned to slow down.
2. We had so many family dinners, and got to really connect and get to know each other again.
3. I took the extra time that lack-of-commuting delivered to me, and focused on my health.
4. I like working from home, and hope to at least maintain a hybrid of office/home work, post-pandemic.
5. I re-envisioned my business, and like it better.
6. I delved into getting more educated on the issues that face our country and planet.
7. I started cooking again, and forgot how much I enjoy it.
8. I spent more time outside, and created an outdoor living space in my yard that I love.
9. I learned to budget my money better.
10. I re-connected with my passion for ______ (art, reading, learning, etc.)

What are your silver linings? What did you learn in 2020 that will serve you going forward?

Hello 2021

Meanwhile, as we all know, things are not going to magically uplift on January 1^st, 2021. Regarding COVID…yes, we have a vaccine (or two or three), but:

1. It will be several months before most of us can receive a vaccine.
2. Many people are uncomfortable with a fast-tracked vaccine and/or a vaccine that involves mRNA.
3. As we change and adapt, so does the virus.

And all of the other topics listed in the 2020 recap above remain at-large. We, as a human family, have a lot to…address, figure out, compromise on, and evolve.

So, as always, we are being asked to embrace the unknown. This can feel uncomfortable but the truth is that anything past right now is unknown, always. We have experienced the ramifications of virus and bacteria outbreaks forever. They are part of Life on Earth. And according to some experts, from a biological perspective, they are necessary for our OUR biological health and evolution.

Yes, our life experience has been, and will likely continue to be, messy and hard. Yet…

• I believe that we can choose how we respond to challenges.
• I believe we can develop empowered well-being, and take actions to support our health and immunity.
• I believe we can be intentional about how we direct our thoughts, actions and energy.
• I believe we can recognize that we have far more in common than we have at odds.
• I believe we can use this time to come together, rather than tear apart.
• I believe that the human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to us in our human form.

These are choices—cross-roads, if you will—that we are being asked to consider, both individually and collectively.

How do I, as a person, want to inhabit my life?
How do we, as a species, want to create our policies, economy and community?

Almost always, some things need to be torn down in order to make room for the new. Are you ready for the challenge? Are We the People ready for the challenge? Time will tell.

I welcome 2021, but also believe that it will be another particularly challenging year, in different ways. I don’t mean this as a doom-and-gloom thing, but more of a:

If you handled this year, you will handle next year. Despite external challenges, we can dig deep and choose our internal response and mindset. And maybe—just maybe—we will increasingly find ways to choose health and joy in the face of chaos. We will…

Create Vibrant Health: BodyMindSpirit® in the context of a Wild World.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights in the comment section below.  

With love and getting-real-on-the-New-Year,

Laurie