Farewell, 2017: A look back over the magic + meaning I found this year

It’s time to say farewell + to prepare to turn the page. To soak up the bittersweetness that is the last day of the year. And to look back over all of the moments that have been. It’s important to me to do this because it gives me perspective. It helps me to see the magic + meaning that 2017 has brought me… not only in the crazy, wild, exciting, over-the-top moments; but also in those incredibly regular, simple, sometimes difficult, and slow, contemplative moments.

And it has been a very slow, intentional year of great balance. Of actively seeking the magic + meaning in my everyday life.

In the beginning of the year, last January, I was determined to focus on living an authentic life, to tap into + live all of my life from my soul. Aligned. Free. True. Intentional. And slow. And, I feel quite settled in my soul that I did just that. I chose how I wanted my moments to be. I slowed down + I focused on recognizing + embracing my desire for a contemplative life.

In fact, as I live these last hours of 2017,  I do believe that I feel rooted + grounded in a way that lets me simply bask in who I am + what I am, without the need for seeking + searching.

That doesn’t mean that I’ve peaked and risen to some enlightened status at all. Quite the opposite. It means that I am rooted so I can rise even more. But, for right now, and perhaps for always from now on, my mindset has nothing to do with what to do, what I want to do, what I feel like doing, what I am called to do. I have nothing but a sense of the present moment + who I am.

I ended this year with a month focused on being present. A very fitting way to close out a year of seeking to be authentic. A way to slowly let all of the energies, lessons, and moments of the past 12 months just swirl around + settle into my soul. And, this month did, in fact, teach me about presence. And how that’s what it’s all about. All of it. Everything. Life. Spirit. Nature. The journey.

But, a look back over a year that has been is just not complete without some photos + summaries, am I right?! Good thing I’m a obsessive about documenting my days with photos. And, I’ve also created my own hashtag on Instagram so I can easily access them: “monthbymonthwithliz.”

For the past 2 years now, I have created a grid/collage of 9 photos from the month + posted it on Instagram, so I have the perfect way to gaze back over my year and remember what I did, learned, felt, and experienced. Most importantly, I can see how I have grown + evolved, and how life has unfolded exactly as it should.

 

So, here we go! Here is my 2017 in photos + words!

{January} Goodbye to a month that really felt like new beginnings to me. For the first time, I think I didn’t rush into the new year with guns blazing, but, instead slowly eased into it. Mindfully and intentionally. With goals + intentions, but with a deeper sense of living in the now. • So, welcome Twenty17… even with all of your newness and change. Time to march on and really tap into our authenticity. As individuals + as a collective global tribe. • Row 1 // Holidays in the USA with my fam Row 2 // Create + work: Mentor + blogger/vlogger Row 3 // Living authentic: me, meditation, raising my voice 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Feb 1, 2017 at 2:12am EST

Farewell, {February}. Looking back on my most liked pics this month, I notice that you were a beautiful balance of slow living + exciting adventure. Most of all, you inspired me with your everyday simplicity, winter coziness, and creative (beer-related) opportunities. And, now I am ready to journey on to welcome March and the coming of spring! 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Feb 28, 2017 at 10:10pm EST

{March} Oopsie daisy! I almost forgot to post my March pics! These are my top 9 liked photos from a month that was creative, fun, and meaningful. Slow moments, cozy times, fun adventures, and amazing people. Oh, how grateful I am for this life I live. 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Apr 4, 2017 at 11:07am EDT

{Oh, April}. You had me going full speed ahead. Filled with magical moments + very special people + travel adventures. Just enough awe + wonder to make me aware, and to help me maintain that slow, mindful pace that I crave. Yes, you filled my soul, warmed my heart, and gave me renewed hope. Just what April should be… transitions + evolution + life. 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Apr 30, 2017 at 11:05pm EDT

{Oh my, May!} . As always, here in Sweden, you treated us to some beautiful weather + beautiful moments. . Spring finally arrived, leaves burst forth, and I found myself outside basking in the light as much as possible. . In the middle of the month, my love + I flew to Germany for a gorgeous wedding weekend filling up my travel soul and ever-deepening my love for simplicity and authenticity. . And I do believe that, even though it has flown by, May, for me, has been a perfect balance of beauty + love, both home + away. . Now, on to summer!

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Jun 1, 2017 at 1:02pm EDT

{Dear June} Your extra long days + light-filled nights have brought about slow, intentional change. Together, we have shifted. We’ve released, let go, and are moving forward. There have been perfectly timed endings + beginnings with your surge of light, life, and energy. ☀️ . – Work has shifted; and yet, not, allowing for new possibilities. – We’ve cleansed our home + raised its vibe. – My creativity has been born anew. – And my soul has basked in the glow of slowly learning every day how to live more authentically. . Thank you, June, for your inspiration + light… for being a month of internal transition + beauty all around.

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Jul 1, 2017 at 12:45am EDT

Well, July, your last few days just slipped right by me + suddenly it’s already the 2nd day of August! . Needless to say, as I looked at my 9 most liked photos of July, I was blown away. What a beautiful, adventurous, inspiring, dare I say “perfect”, summer month you have been. Filled with moment after beautiful moment in the most meaningful places. . Uppsala, Sweden ↠ NYC ↠ North Carolina. . Workdays ↠ Urban walks ↠ Mountain explorations ↠ Special times with special people . 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Aug 2, 2017 at 3:18am EDT

My dear, sweet August. You will now be forever known as the month my parents traveled home with me + Lina. Their first visit Sweden. Gaaaaah. Bigger than anything I could imagine. . So, from the funky fun of the mountains of NC, to watching my parents explore Sweden + sharing my life here with them, to waving them home + settling back into my daily life routines… this month will always be one of the most special. . It has been packed with unforgettable adventures, cozy moments, laughs, and inspiration. I give thanks for it all, and now I am am ready to gather all the memories into my heart and look forward to autumn creeping in. 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Aug 31, 2017 at 10:54pm EDT

My sweet season of September… how you have slowly guided me into this next season of deep inward reflection. • Summer has ended. Autumn has crept in. I have celebrated another year of living. And life has moved from an energy of grateful, slow stability to embracing changes of all kinds in my little family’s life… with intentional, meditative, soul-filled guidance. • I did not imagine ending September with such uncertainty, because, I didn’t imagine it at all. There is no need to imagine how it will be when we focus only on what is. • So as I transition into a deeper season of autumn in October, I do so not expecting anything + only living for today. Yes, I cast my visions + set my intentions, but I do so with an open trust in the unfolding of life. I move in rhythm with the seasons, instead of trying to force or control what happens. • September, you taught me to listen, feel, accept, celebrate, and trust with a depth that I had not yet discovered. And you reminded me that the thing that I can control is how I respond + react + move forward. • Here’s to your beauty, to being my soul-month, for filling me with an energy of fulfillment + completion, and to calling me further into my own journey of evolution.

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Sep 30, 2017 at 5:41am EDT

Slow slow slow living, my dear mystical October. That’s what you gave me. Or, actually, that’s what I chose. • I dove deep this month, really soaking in the season like never before. I sat. I prayed. I meditated. I listened. I wrote. I walked. I embraced and lived and nested in the cozy moments. • I stayed home when I could – partly out of choice, partly out of necessity. I went to work, of course, and brought that balanced, slow energy with me even there. • And it all has been ever so perfect, just as it is. Not easy, not actually perfect, not exciting, and not active. And, yet, perfect. • Yes, I dropped deep into my soul. I traveled on my own personal vision quest. And I found magic + wisdom + heard messages of truth from both within and without. • The contemplative solitude and darkness and quiet and intentional living has put me on a quiet path forward. Towards what, I do not know. But, oh how I trust. • And oh, how I thank you, mysterious October. ? 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Oct 31, 2017 at 3:21pm EDT

November, you were busy. I admit that I didn’t feel any deep connection with you, but I loved you fully anyway. . You were filled with everyday life stuff. A mix of time at home + time away. Lots of work + intentional moments of slow reflection. . But, honestly, I don’t know where you’ve gone. Or what you’ve really been about. I’ve sensed no clear focus, but simply moved from moment to moment. . And while I love the months that feel magical; the months that simply are what they are, like you, November, are just as beautiful. No muss. No fuss. . Because this is where life happens. The daily stuff is what it’s all about. And, in looking back, I see that living from day to day, moving from one moment to the next, allows me to sink into the rhythm of living out the way of life I crave. . These are the days that I get to practice what I preach. . So, thank you, November, for being you. For helping me transition from autumn to winter. For giving me days in which to practice my work. And days in which to connect with my soul. . And, thank you for helping me to see even more clearly how these two things are really meant to be happening simultaneously. How life is not meant to be separated between work + soul, but that my soul is to lead + guide me in all of my work. 

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Nov 30, 2017 at 1:24pm EST

Oh, December. You have been a slow, intentional month of great balance. Of seeking the magic + meaning in my everyday life. . In the beginning of the month, I was determined to focus on being present, to soak up the darkness + simplicity of all of my December moments. To not get crazy in the midst of all of the hustle + bustle of the season. And, I feel quite settled in my soul that I did just that. I chose how I wanted my moments to be. I slowed down + I focused on embracing my desire for a contemplative life. . In fact, I do believe that I feel rooted + grounded in a way that lets me simply bask in who I am + what I am, without the need for seeking + searching. . That doesn’t mean that I’ve peaked and risen to some enlightened status at all. Quite the opposite. It means that I am rooted so I can rise even more. But, for right now, and perhaps for always, my mindset has nothing to do with what to do, what I want to do, what I feel like doing, what I am called to do. I have nothing but a sense of the present moment + who I am. ♀ . Dear December, you did, in fact, teach me about presence. And how that’s what it’s all about. All of it. Everything. Life. Spirit. Nature. The journey. . So, with that, as I ease into a new year and bid farewell to 2017, I do so simply by being present in this moment + setting the intention to be present in all my moments as they unfold. . Happy New Year, dear IG souls + friends. May the presence of spirit + magic + hope ever be your guide. ☽❍↟

A post shared by liz (@belovelivecoaching) on Dec 31, 2017 at 3:59am EST

 

And so, with that, as I ease into a new year and bid farewell to 2017, I do so simply by being present in this moment + setting the intention to be present in all my moments as they unfold. And I thank you all ever so much for being here, for reading, for sharing, and for journeying with me. Your presence is felt and greatly cherished.

Happy New Year, dear blog souls + friends. May the presence of spirit + magic + hope ever be your guide as we embark on a new 12 months around the sun.

☽❍↟ xoxo. liz.