settle

Still sitting with and integrating the lessons of last year.

It’s truly one of my favorite things - looking back and seeing how my visions, intentions, card pulls, and word of the year manifested, reflecting on all that’s come to be this last year.

My word for 2024 was settle. I’ve been choosing (or letting the universe choose for me) a word of the year for more than a decade now. Sometimes they are real guiding lights. Sometimes they just sort of fade into the background of life.

Settle was the former. I don’t think any other word of the year has guided me so thoroughly.

I settled more deeply into my home, purging the extraneous through my first yard sale, calling in new treasures through FBMP.

I settled more deeply into my community. Coffee dates. Lunch dates. Hosting workshops, pop ups, and masterminds.

I settled more deeply into my makerhood. Sticking with markets that were tried and true. Sustaining, not hustling. Exploring new mediums. Taking time off.

I settled, reluctantly, into one cat life after losing our sweet Fiona in March.

We settled my mom’s estate, finally selling her house after years of probate, renovations, and such.

I settled for less. I bought far fewer things. I got rid of a lot. I am beginning to learn how to let enough be enough.

I settled for less in my business. Less sales. Less markets. Fewer collections.

I set down my constant need for growth, expansion, evolution and more. I didn’t read a single personal or spiritual development book. I read fiction for fun.

I set aside self-growth in favor of self-compassion. I treated myself like a beloved, not a problem to be fixed.

It was a year of integration and recreation.

When I was in doubt about whether to do the thing, to hustle harder, I would remind myself that no, this is my year of settling.

And I feel settled. Calmer. Grounded. More at ease.

We are told never to settle. I have to say, I vehemently disagree. I highly recommend settling.

I am so grateful for all this word has shown me.