For many middle-aged women, the end of the year invites us to review and reflect on the past twelve months of our lives. Perhaps it’s the long nights, cozy weather, and the awareness that a New Year is on the horizon that prompts us to set our sights on the rear-view mirror of our journey. In the movie, Shall We Dance, Susan Sarandon’s monologue beautifully describes the need people have for their life to be witnessed by someone in order to fully realize the meaning of their existence. It’s an insightful monologue worth viewing. A year-end review is an invaluable opportunity to witness our own life and the value of our own existence. And winter is the ideal time for this retrospective. There are many ways to do a year-end review, and it continues to evolve for me with every new trip around the sun. As a 50+ woman becomes more of her true self, she may develop new approaches on how to go about this special time for reflection. Some years, she may not even do a review and find great peace with her decision. In this article, I will share my experience. As someone who feels deeply and loves rituals that nourish my being, I like to do things with intention. Here are just a few steps I may take in preparation for my review:

• Make a hot beverage that I enjoy, like chicory tea or hot chocolate, in one of my favorite mugs.
• Gather my Inspiráh journal and colored pen(s) to capture my thoughts, and look through the photos on phone to help me recall events from the past year.
• Create a quiet environment for myself that feels inviting and safe.
• Close the door to my space and let my family know that I need time alone to write.
• Make sure that I have a view of nature from wherever I sit, as nature plays a grounding and loving role in my life.
• Burn sage or incense to cleanse the energy in my environment and set the tone for inner engagement.
• Light candles to create a soft and relaxing atmosphere.
• Play background music that helps me introspect. I love to listen to Yanni or to a video on YouTube from Self-Healing Collective that offers healing music tuned to different Solfeggio frequencies. Instrumental music and ambient vocals help me focus.
• Close my eyes and take a few deep breaths (exhale twice as long as I inhale) until my body and mind quiet down.
• Call my inner guides to this campfire-like gathering and request support as I recount my life over the past year.

• Something that I learned that took effort, such as a new technical skill (like Procreate) or conversational phrases in a foreign language that proved useful while traveling abroad.
• That gorgeous trip to Italy that I dreamed about for a decade.
• I made peace with my silver hair and I kind of like it now!
• I created a new body of artowrk.
• An improvement to my health to which I dedicated myself.
• Breakthroughs that I had in a relationship.
• Adding beautiful oracle decks to my collection.
• Gratitude for people in my life that are supportive and help me grow.
• Redesigning and launching my website.
• Found myself feeling compassion toward myself when I looked in the mirror and saw a new wrinkle or two. I felt less resistance and more acceptance.
• The many days this summer when I laid on the earth and enjoyed looking at the sky as the earth relaxed my nervous system- this is one of my FAVE things to do during the warm season.
• Moments with my mom as we worked on a puzzle together.

  Reflecting on the year makes me appreciate the tiny and big moments, as well as my accomplishments and challenges from the past four seasons. What matters most to me is acknowledging the significance of those moments and experiences, and how they impacted me and others.  There isn’t a right or wrong way to reflect upon and review our year. It’s not something we have to do and it’s definitely not a time to criticize or judge ourselves as we journey back in time for a while. It is an exercise that allows us to acknowledge the experiences we’ve lived through, whether joyful or painful. It’s a time for us to recall all that worked  and to identify what didn’t work so we can understand ourselves and others better. It’s a time to see that we really DID make progress and how all of our micro efforts made a big impact. We get to remember the people with whom we had adventures, conversations, and shared our challenges. Let’s be proud of ourselves! And no matter if we have had a really tough year, there likely was some good in our lives, too.  Whether you are new or seasoned at writing a year-end review and feel called to do one this year, I hope you will find things you feel proud of, grateful for, curious about, and deeply inspired by. Create your own ritual and listen to what wants to emerge from within you and come forward into your awareness. Appreciate who you are, what you’ve accomplished, how you’ve impacted others, and what you learned this past year. Afterward, give yourself a high-five in the mirror and thank yourself for showing up in the best way that you could for the past 12 months. Let yourself know that you are on your side, and that Life is on your side. You matter. You always matter. And then you give yourself a big smile and maybe even a wink!  Stay tuned on my next blog about setting intentions with a light heart for the year ahead.  Sending warm wishes for the holidays to bring you joy and ease. Sacreah