As the year winds down, I find myself thinking a lot about endings and beginnings. Obviously, 2021 is coming to an end, and while we all had high hopes that it would be a better year than 2020, it was just as challenging for my family personally. Not that there weren’t many wonderful things that happened in 2021, but the shitty stuff was pretty shitty. Ever an eternal optimist, I look to the coming year with gratitude and hope. I know there will be challenges, and things often change in an instant, but all the more reason to be grateful for the here and now, and for the time with which we are gifted.

At the end of every year, I also take inventory of my personal and professional life. I ask myself if I am focused on the things that are most important to me, and if I’m spending my precious time on my priorities. If not, it feels like a natural time to make a change. To that end, I’ve decided to step away from Inkitt, the publishing company where I work in several capacities. The projects have been gratifying and interesting, and the people wonderful, but lately it’s been taking too much time away from my own writing. At some point the balance shifted, and I need to shift it back.

The thing about endings though, is that they make space for beginnings. I have a lot I’d like to accomplish professionally this year, and I am clearing the space to do just that. I’m still in the middle of my reflective process, but this is one step I’ve already taken to realign my priorities. I’ll let you know what else I come up with.

Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something's time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings. - Henry Cloud

Wishing you all peaceful endings and joyful beginnings this holiday season.