Graceful Exit: Another Calendar Year Gone

There’s a trick to the ‘graceful exit.’ It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, or a relationship is over — and let it go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance to our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving up, rather than out.”

– Ellen Goodman

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”

– Buddha

I didn’t plan on writing a post today, but Facebook memories reminded me that three years ago, we buried my mom and that four years ago I shared the Ellen Goodman quote at the top of this post. 31 December 2017 was the last time I wrote I nightly positive post on Facebook; it wrapped up four years of ending each night by posting a positive thought. (Please see How This Blog Came to Be.) The time arrived for me to move on and do something that reached further than sharing positivity and gratitude on my personal Facebook.

My Facebook post on 31 December 2017 ends with, “May 2018 be a year of graceful exits and solid beginnings.” I didn’t know what exits, beginnings, departures, arrivals, or changes were in store for me in 2018, and after my mom’s funeral on New Year’s Eve day in 2018, I knew that 2019 would be different without my mom. Over the years I’ve learned how to live more mindfully in the present and to allow the future to arrive. (Please see Dance the Dance, Love the Love.)

I started this blog a little more than two years ago, feeling called to write, so I let it flow to become whatever it was meant to be. I gave it time for topics and rhythm to arrive and evolve, but last year I also fell into sharing my ukulele journey. This past year I recognized that music comes naturally for letting my light shine. (Please see Shining… Glowing… Authentically.) I feel that my smiling, singing, and playing ukulele is enough for brightening someone else’s day, but being invited to collaborate and be the vocalist for someone else’s music raises my vibration. I feel happy contributing to another creator’s project.

More collaborations are in progress, and I feel happy and grateful for my YouTube channel‘s growth the past eight months. In April I started with 27 subscribers and set a goal to reach 500 subscribers by 31 December 2021, and the past couple of days it has fluctuated between 480 and 483 thanks to YouTube’s automated “clean up”. I’m short of meeting my goal, BUT I feel grateful for the subscribers who affirm that I’m fulfilling my mission and purpose as a lightworker, AND I feel happy knowing that I will reach 500 subscribers in January. I look forward to sharing the work of other creators and helping them grow their audience by doing for them what others have done for me. 💜GRATITUDE💜

I may not be able to see what is coming in 2022, but I feel grateful that I’m on my way. I feel grateful to everyone who makes time to give me feedback, such as “You’re a bright spot in my day” or “You always looks so happy singing and playing”. They affirm I’m on my path and doing what I set out to do – be the light.

Do it because you fucking love it.”

– Count Me In, documentary

Luceat Lux Vestra.