The title of this post is because I actually wrote my original reflection about 2 days ago when I was in a weird headspace. I reread it today and thought, this is dry as all fuck. Not only that, but it didn’t even really reflect on the year, it was just a detailed recap of what happened. With that bullshit aside now, here is my 2nd attempt at reflecting on the year.

2022 was a year of growth, pain, joy, change, and love. I try not to dwell on the past, but it’s important to reflect on it in order to learn. I feel like I say this at the end of every year, but this past year was the best year of my life so far. It’s all relative of course, but the amount of personal growth and transformation I went through this year was astonishing. 

I began the year with a new job, but it was still something I wasn’t very passionate about. I didn’t really know this at the time though. This was starting to bother me subconsciously, so I began searching for ways to better myself in the hopes that I would find my direction somewhere along the way. My only real plan for the entire year was to go to Peru to do ayahuasca at some point. I’m happy to say I achieved that one, singular goal.

I started going to therapy, I made new friends, I lost old ones, I got bitten by a crackhead, I traveled around the country, I saw some amazing live music, I started TripSitting, I went to Peru, I lost the job that I wasn’t very passionate about in the first place, and I decided to move to a new city in 2023.

Another highlight was getting my heart broken. Don’t get me wrong, it fucking sucked at the time. However, with the help of a very powerful Amazonian plant spirit, getting my heart broken helped me understand what it means to love others unconditionally. More importantly than that, I learned what true, unconditional self-love feels like. This was the greatest feeling I had ever felt, and I continue to try to feel it every day. 

I felt a broader range of emotions this past year than I have in the past decade. I also finally understand what it means to live in the present. I now have some sort of direction with how I want to live my life, yet at the same time I have no fucking clue what I’m doing… and that’s completely fine with me ;).

Here are my top lessons from 2022 that I’m going to take with me into 2023, and I hope some of them can help you too:

Love is the only thing that matters 

This is by far the biggest lesson from this year for me. Love influences everything you do, whether you believe that or not. Cultivating self-love is the single most important task any human can undertake. Once you fill your own cup with as much self-love as possible, you can begin to overflow into the universe and impact others. You can only love others and allow others to love you as much as you love yourself.

You are already enough

The biggest lie we can ever tell ourselves is that we need to be more than we are right now. You are already perfect and worthy of love exactly as you are. Don’t ever let yourself or anyone make you believe differently.

Let go

Let go of the past. Let go of how you want things to be in the future. Let go of all attachments. Let go of joy, pain, guilt, shame… everything. Let go of control and surrender to the universe. Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting. It means letting go of the emotional energy that is stored within your body. If you don’t believe you have any emotional energy stored in your body, please take this one to heart. Unless you’re the fucking Buddha, you have attachments that you need to let go of.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

Discomfort is a sign of growth. Only once you get comfortable with it and question it can you truly work through it and learn from it.

There is no good or bad, there just is

This one plays off of the last one. We like to label things as good or bad. Most things that happen to you are completely out of your control, whether it’s a promotion at work or getting hit by a car. Learning to accept what is without trying to change it can be radically freeing. 

Embrace change

The only constant in the universe is change. The sooner you embrace this, the less suffering you’ll endure. 

Don’t think; feel

Let your heart guide your decisions, not your head. Feel whatever is there and then let it go.

Slow the fuck down

The Universe is 14.5 billion years old, and you happen to be alive right now at this very moment. The odds of that are pretty statistically improbable, so enjoy your time here before it’s gone. 

Play more

This one is simple. Remember when you used to play as a little kid just for the sake of having fun? No agenda, no worries, no nothing… just pure play. Do that more 🙂

What a fucking year. Wishing everyone infinite blessings going into the new year. I can’t fucking wait for what’s to come. 

If you have any lessons you learned this past year that you’re taking into 2023, I would love to hear them! Shoot me a DM on Instagram or send me an email at tripsittingblog@gmail.com.