NEW YEAR, WHO DIS?

As I write this we are almost a month into 2018 and it was unseasonably warm today in Maryland.  I don’t like the cold, but I also think it’s a big problem that I can wear shorts in January.  (Another conversation for another day though!) Anyway, I don’t really partake in the typical question that comes with a New Year, which is “What are your resolutions/goals?” Not because I don’t have any; I have goals, but I don’t attach them to any particular “thing.” I just have stuff I’d like to accomplish like every other person, both professionally and personally that are kind of just ongoing…Honestly, by the time New Year’s arrives I am just ready for the holiday season to be over, because from the time Thanksgiving starts to around January 1st it literally feels like a whirlwind- a blur of sorts. Kind of like, wham bam thank you ma’am it’s a new year…the eating, drinking is over, and it’s time to get your shit together until the next celebration/federal holiday.  For me getting my shit together, means getting back to my regular routine of work, workouts and scheduled outings all while managing to stay warm; unless it’s like 60 degrees outside like today. I digress! 

I can appreciate the sentiment that a new year is the opportunity to reflect upon everything that happened.  Thinking about it, I feel like a new year is an opportunity to shed old habits, mistakes, things maybe I wish I didn’t do, or the things I wish I could have done better…to just let it go, carry on and continue forward, which is always way easier said than done. Everything is a process, and because we are human, fallible, emotional and not always rational sometimes that process isn’t always so smooth.  And that’s okay because really, nothing always goes as planned. Very rarely in fact do things always go as planned, which brings me to the point of this post…

I was sifting through the Internet, as I regularly do, and came across the story of Holly Butcher, a young woman who at 26 was forced to deal with the fact that she was going to die. Yes, die…at the ripe old age of 26 she had to start thinking about her death. Holly had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that is often found in teenagers and young adults.  She lost her battle with the disease on January 4th, 2018. May she rest in peace. But before Holly left this earth she left us all with a gift, that I don’t think got the attention it deserved. On January 3rd at 4:16pm she left us all with her final thoughts in a Facebook post, that I found to be very poignant. In that post she left us the reminder that we should be grateful for the every day. The every-day is the just the ability to wake up open our eyes get out of our beds or wherever you sleep, and live. Grateful that we all have another day to fuck up, or not…Grateful, to be able to have things to complain about, but maybe not focus on the things we are complaining about.  Appreciate that we get to see another day, because all the hopes and dreams she had for herself, the goals…were all taken away from her. Truth be told it can all be taken away from us as well at any given moment.

For those that are struggling with trying to live a healthy life, Holly said the following:

“I tried to live a healthy life, in fact, that was probably my major passion. Appreciate your good health and functioning body- even if it isn’t your ideal size. Look after it and embrace how amazing it is. Move it and nourish it with fresh food. Don’t obsess over it.

Remember there are more aspects to good health than the physical body..work just as hard on finding your mental, emotional and spiritual happiness too. That way you might realise just how insignificant and unimportant having this stupidly portrayed perfect social media body really is.. While on this topic, delete any account that pops up on your news feeds that gives you any sense of feeling shit about yourself. Friend or not.. Be ruthless for your own well-being.

Be grateful for each day you don’t have pain and even the days where you are unwell with man flu, a sore back or a sprained ankle, accept it is shit but be thankful it isn’t life threatening and will go away.”

As someone who has recently had the pleasure of helping people get on the path to a more healthy life, this really resonated. With a new year, comes all the jokes about the people who make the resolution to lose more weight, eat right, get fit, but can’t or don’t manage to fulfill their goal.  I never gave it much thought, until I started directly working with people who struggle with this aspect of their life, then I started to view things differently.  Trying to be the best version of yourself is not a thing you take on once a year, it’s an ongoing project, that sometimes comes to a complete stop, but other times moves at a faster pace.  It’s work. Work that isn’t just about looking a certain way as it is with feeling your best.  Feeling your best, comes in all different shapes, sizes, ways of life, and at different points in your life, and that’s the beauty of being alive…the fact that we all get to experiences all those highs and lows.

Reading her words at the beginning of the year, was a very powerful reminder of what’s important. So when I say “New Year, who dis?” Ask yourself that, who is this? Who do you want to be not just in 2018 but every day after that? What do you want to focus on? How do you want to get there? Maybe you are one the people that have vowed to get healthier in 2018. If so awesome! But NEVER feel bad about yourself if you don’t achieve what you set out to achieve because every day is a new day and a new opportunity; a gift. A gift to fall and get back up however many times it takes…After all, we are human and imperfect, there is no right or wrong way to get to where you want to get, there is just YOUR WAY- YOUR JOURNEY!

Holly had a lot more to say about her thoughts on life, which I would recommend taking the time to read here.

Thank you Holly for leaving us this gift before you departed.

HAPPY 2018 EVERYONE!