Vision for 2020 and Beyond

Do you feel the same closure about the last decade that I do?  Have you set an intention for the days, weeks, and year(s) to come?

I’m not usually sentimental about these things if you can believe it.  I try to live every day as if it could be my last!  But the past 10 years have been so informative and revealing to me personally.  That decade ending felt conclusive in a way I did not foresee, and in the final weeks of 2019, I wondered what my intention would be for this year. 

< Last year an intention – a word – seemed to choose me, and it resulted that the word had such positive significance for me last year.  “Trust.”  I actually selected it on the morning of January 1st, somewhat casually.  You can see it here on my Instagram.  Well, that little word made reverberations all through 2019 in ways I’ll remember for the rest of my life – many of which I have shared with you already.

So naturally as 2020 got closer, I wondered what intention would well up from within me, and spill into and across the next 12 months. 

When the word “Expansion” kept coming to mind, I was somewhat bored (with a hint of eyeroll).

Expansion felt a little bit like trying too hard. 

“Who doesn’t want expansion?” I thought.  I wasn’t connecting to it. 

But I couldn’t deny the way it kept walking itself into the living room of my mind and putting its muddy boots on the coffee table.

Well, it wasn’t until January 2 a few days ago, in the middle of yoga class on Mercer Island, that I understood what Expansion means for me, for us, for the next year and beyond.

I got a picture of a basin, far and wide as one of the Great Lakes, that people naturally enjoy dropping into when they brush up against its gentle edges.  This is the type of expansion which was coming up for me.  Not the kind that grows taller and bigger like buildings obscure the sky, and not the kind that grabs and clambers to collect and consume more things, but the kind like arms wide enough to hold all of us.  A deep well of compassion that stretches and grows out of sight, through space, without border or boundary. 

Expansion like a great basin of compassion – spreading down and out underneath us to create a new foundation.  One that’s more inclusive, more grounded, and more essential. 

This picture brings a smile to my face, but I’m more curious how you find it.  Does this resonate for you? 

If it’s been a while since we crossed paths and you’re looking for an opportunity to do something truly kind for yourself, I hope you’ll take this as an invitation to reconnect.  Just reply to this email.

I wish you peace and prosperity this year and always.

Let’s make it the best one yet.

Pictured: the author/owner, Mandy Barbee