A Dickens of a Decade – Moxie On Monday

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities 

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. 

That’s what the last decade feels like to me.

A dance between light and dark. 

Or, perhaps, more accurately, a battle. 

As we come upon a new year and, more importantly, a new decade, I’m spending time reflecting. Reflecting on the good. Reflecting on the bad. 

I’ve experienced some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. 

It felt as if there was a demarcation line drawn between my personal life and my professional life. 

One dark. One light. 

Approaching a new decade brings with it reflection on the last decade – where I was 10 years ago and how much has changed. 

In 2010, the decade ahead held so much promise. I was looking forward to a new life and a new beginning. 

I was leaving behind a painful period of my life. My marriage and all the hopes and dreams that went with it. 

Looking ahead was a new frontier, a move west to a new life in LA. 

It’s funny, as I thought moving would change everything. I believed moving would be the equivalent of hitting the delete button on my past, magically erasing my past. But as Jon Kabat-Zinn so wisely taught us, “Wherever you go, there you are.” 

I moved west and so did lots of baggage I carried with me – the trauma, the abuse, and the ghosts of the past. 

A new decade brings with it a new beginning – a clean slate and lots of wide open white space – space to create and space to let go. 

What comes to mind is the metaphor of an old fashioned hot air balloon. Heavy sandbags keep it grounded. In order to rise, you must release many of those sandbags. 

Baggage. 

Heavy baggage … like Marley’s chains. 

It weighs you down. 

Moxie lifts you up. 

Letting go lifts you up. 

Darkness weighs you down. 

Light lifts you up. 

A true force of character knows when it’s time to let go of the sandbags, the ghosts of the past – the dark times we face throughout our lives. 

I am going to try something different this decade.

I am going to put all that baggage into a box. I’m going to put that box away.

And I’m not going to open it up again.

Ever.

2020 brings with it great promise. A new year. A leap year. A new decade. 

22 – a deeply spiritual number. 

2020 – a time to rise. 

In order to rise, we must let go – we must lighten our load – bid adieu to the ghosts of the past – say goodbye to the darkness – welcome the light. 

I’m ready. 

I choose light. 

I choose Moxie. 

Are you with me?

Need More Moxie?! See all my Moxie On Monday’s!

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