My personal reflection on 2023 and how to have an impact in 2024

In his book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra talks about the Law of Giving.

This law states that what you put out there, you get back. In other words, the more you give joyfully and positively, the more you get back from others, often in surprising ways.

Upon reflection of my experiences in 2023, I saw this law unfold in a very large way.

Let me explain.

At the beginning of each year, I choose a word that represents my yearly theme.
In 2023, my word was compassion.

Compassion, sometimes confused with empathy, is a wonderful word as it denotes action. When being compassionate, you don’t just feel someone’s pain, like you do when being empathetic, but you take action to help.

For the first six months of the year, I was a compassion warrior. I made it my purpose to live and breathe compassion in my work and personal life. It was a very rewarding experience.

But then, the tables turned in a dramatic way.

I became the recipient of compassion.

The Law of Giving was shifting gears.

How did this transpire?

Well, sadly, both of my beloved parents passed away this year.

My mom passed away in June at 78 years old and my dad just 5 months later at 84 years old. While I am so grateful that they both lived amazing, long lives, the pain and heartache can still be very intense. It’s early days still.

Over the last six months, my family, friends and colleagues have demonstrated compassion in such a tremendous way.

How ironic that I became the recipient of the word that I chose as my theme for the year.

My community took action big time.

They dropped off food baskets, meals, soup and cookies. They sent flowers, made donations and wrote lots of lovely cards, texts and emails.

It was hard to recognize all of this compassion through my grief but in hindsight, it is now crystal clear.

To be honest, I’m blown away and moved beyond words.

So, my lesson for this year is how powerful the Law of Giving truly can be.

Let me ask you this, if you had to pick a word for 2024, what word would you pick?

What kind of energy do you want to put out there next year?

How do you want to show up this year to make the world a better place?

Would you like to know my word for 2024?

Well, it’s actually 3 words: Love and Light.

The world needs much more of it and I’m ready to be a “love and light” warrior in this new year ahead.

Wishing you a peaceful new year and a wonderful holiday season however you are celebrating.