One of my favorite lines from the musical “Mama Mia” is when Tanya tries to escape a young suitor by saying she needs to leave for “. . .a little repair and renovation.” Granted, it is not said in the context I’m going to be writing about at all, but I have decided it is going to be an instrumental mantra for me in the New Year. A year to reflect on what I’ve learned about myself, and then repair, rebuild, and renovate. A time to take what I know now, and become a better me. And my guess is, all of that will bring about a rejuvenation as well.
First, let’s think about what those words really mean. Renovation requires the removal of something old. I think we all can agree there is something about ourselves that we need to let go; discard. It might be a habit or tradition that is not beneficial to our well-being. Repair means to modify something existing. We may have a very solid wellness foundation, but we know there are a few things we could repair or do better at. We don’t have to throw everything out and start over. Just find 1 or 2 things to repair. To rebuild means to build again after something has been damaged or destroyed. Perfect! We can all do that!
We’ve had a long pause these past several months and during that pause, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves, and about others for that matter. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. But sometimes it takes seeing all that to see where we need to renovate. To make it better. To bring life back to some part of us that we may have lost long ago. We have been enlightened about things we were clinging to that, after they were taken away, we realized really had no value. At the time, we thought they had value, but after having our perceptions changed and our values re-examined, we realized they had no value, but did rob us of energy and time.
For me, there have been many awakenings. Things I didn’t know about myself or had covered up with “business.” For example, I always assumed I was born to travel. I love to travel. I look forward to the next trip. But what I learned is when that was taken away (and I did have to give up 2 beach trips which normally would have devastated me!), I could find the same sense of a “vacation” right at home. It took some time, don’t get me wrong! And it still isn’t always easy (it’s hard to recreate the sound of ocean waves while in the middle of the mountains in Montana), but it was possible. Travel has always been my means of escape. So, I had to find new ways to escape and rejuvenate. What I learned? Travel isn’t the only way to do this. Staycations can work just as well when we put our mind to them and stay committed. Plus they are a lot less expensive and the travel part is less stressful. Getting creative is also another great outlet and way to rejuvenate. Any type of creativity works!
So let’s think about 2021 as a time to renovate and repair. An improvement over who we were before. It doesn’t have to be big or herculean, but just a little tweak, a little adjustment, a little polishing to make something good. What if we picked just one thing about ourselves that we wanted to tweak, or adjust, or polish up a bit to make us better? For me, it’s my reactions to people and situations. Part of my repair work for 2021 is to offer more kindness and compassion to those who are in difficult situations due to circumstances outside of their control. I want to be a better advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves.
What will your 2021 renovation, rebuildling, or repair be? Don’t make it hard. Keep it simple and attainable; make it meaningful and something you truly know and understand about yourself and want to make better.
Finally, all the best to you in 2021! I wish you good health, wellness, and peace. Namaste