Taking Time to Celebrate

The year is wrapping up. Before diving into deep planning for 2026, I’d love to ask: Have you taken a moment to celebrate what you’ve accomplished this year?

In my email newsletter a couple of weeks ago, we talked about pausing in this quiet time of year, for reflection and rest. But I also want to remind you about the beauty of celebrating what you’ve accomplished this year, because what you’ve done is worth celebrating. Take a moment to remember all the ways you showed up for your family, your colleagues, friends, and community. Did you do anything that scared you, but you did it anyway? What are some of the small actions you took that made a difference in your life or in the life of someone else? And here’s something I love celebrating: What did you let go of? It’s so easy to gloss over our daily actions and move on to the next thing on the To Do list.

But Karen (I can hear you thinking all the way over here), I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to this year. There are things left undone, things I didn’t do well, things I regret doing.

Oh, my goodness, I understand. It’s been a hard year for a lot of people. As much as we have worked to monitor what we consume (not only in calories, but in what we see through all the various channels), there’s been a lot that we’ve collectively witnessed. There’s been much we’ve carried and held, and for many people, it added to a sense of exhaustion, of the unexpected grief from watching things we thought we could always count on disintegrate or be torn down without warning. It’s no wonder many of us wanted to escape a bit or have more respite than usual. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t accomplish anything.

Sometimes we think accomplishment and achievement have to be big things before they “count.” But often it’s simply not giving in to apathy, hopelessness, or victimization. If you’re advocating for a better world, a better way, a better way of showing up for yourself or others, that’s an enormous and impactful accomplishment. And that’s worth celebrating!

How grateful I am that I was able to enjoy extensive travel this year, navigating four continents, six countries over the span of four months. It was an extraordinary year, meeting people in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, Istanbul and Ayvalik, Turkey, Skala Eresou, Lesvos, Greece, and across the US from Portland through El Paso through Memphis and Asheville, NC.

No matter where I went, I met people who were joyful, in spite of the state of the world which is in flux, at best. All over the world, systems are failing. There’s much suffering we continue to witness from the annihlilation of Gaza and the continuing wars in Ukraine and Sudan, among others. Evidences of governmental corruption hit the headlines nearly weekly, as do environmental and social catastrophes. And yet, everywhere I went, people celebrated life. From bold performances of traditional arts to spontaneous musical performances to communal cookouts where no one was a stranger, life always found a way.

So I urge you: celebrate. Take a moment to recognize and feel into the joy that life offers. While I don’t think we can ignore the enormous challenges we face as the world changes, it is our capacity for compassion, for experiencing the joy of connection with others, and the love of life that gives us the resilience we need to prevail.

On this last day of 2025, I also want to acknowledge and express my deep thanks to all of you, readers, clients, colleagues, fellow travelers on this road to aligned work and purpose. The support, encouragement, community, connections, and good cheer you continue to offer me means more than you know, and I'm so grateful for it! Thank you. Looking forward to continued growth and impact as we move together into 2026.