It’s a new year, I feel excited, cautious, optimistic, and weary. I’m trying to leave space for all the emotions. 2021 is going to be another big, chaotic year (and, hopefully, moving towards reconciliation and healing, rather than divisiveness and rage), and I suspect that my annual themes are going to be even more important than in previous years. As our community changes and evolves, having some stated priorities will allow me to move towards the life I want while honouring the world that we are actually living in (not the world we often wish we were living in).
As I discussed in my Top 5 Adventures of 2020 post, something that really crystallized last year was what did I really want to be doing with my time, and what was superfluous. In the last few weeks, as I’ve started getting excited for the new year, it has been a lot easier than previously to set themes and goals because my priorities and values are far clearer. I did not have to think long and hard to come up with my themes for 2021:
- Cultivating Community: I have spent a lot of time thinking about Community, particularly as a result of all the social changes that came about in 2020. Community is a topic that puzzles me extensively, because I’m both an introverted, solitary person, and a common thread to some of the best period of my life is a strong community. As I continue to ruminate, I’ve mostly come up with more questions than answers. What is community? Why does it matter? How do you know when you’ve achieved it? Am I over thinking it? In any event, looking towards people and community, and being less afraid of inviting people into our adventures will certainly be a big theme this year.
- Embarking on New Adventure: My general rule is that if you want to get somewhere, you have to start going. I did a lot of really exciting and fun learning last year, and feel a sense of ‘completeness’ in a number of areas, so now I want to embark on bigger, scarier, and different adventures! And that means that I’ll just have to go to new areas and terrain, rather than reverting to my favoured and well-known trail and mountains.
- Creating Space for Play: I tend to be a pretty producivity-focused, and if I don’t see a pursuit being useful or valuable in the long run, I tend not to engage with it. I don’t fear beginning or sucking at something…I fear wasting my time frivolously. And avoiding play is probably not that good for me (or anybody), so this year I want to bring in more aimless, purposeless, unproductive goofiness into my life.
Although I plan to use my themes to make decisions as the year evolves, I do have a list of ‘maybe goals’ as well – things that I would really like to do, if it fits within the landscape of the year:
- Complete the Golden Hinde Traverse across Strathcona Park;
- Climb 5 new (to me) mountains on Vancouver Island;
- Get out on a sailboat and play around;
- Cycle 2021 km; and
- Complete 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training
So, we’ll see what happens, and I’ll do my best to roll along with the inevitable ebbs and flows of the coming year.
How are you hanging in there, and planning to tackle 2021?
Barefoot in the Backwoods 
I’m all in for a great year in 2021. For me, 2020 wasn’t the bad year that most people seem to think it was. I enjoyed working from home and I did a lot of hiking and mountain climbing. Being outside was therapeutic. I recommend that everyone listen to the news less and get outside more. Keep the great content coming. Happy Trails.
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Absolutely! Honestly, I also feel like I got a relatively ‘lite’ 2020: I could seamlessly transition to a work-from-home model, all my hobbies are already socially distanced, and I dislike large groups, so the ‘covid lifestyle’ suits me well. I just wish that it hadn’t come at the expense of massive global pain and fear. Alas – to a fantastic 2021!
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