2021: A Year of Honor

By Gabbie Pepin

Happy New Year to our Northern Life community, and the biggest thank you to Allie, our fearless, compassionate leader who has seen us through the ups and downs of 2020. She keeps our community connected and engaged in both our personal and combined journeys toward greater health and wellness.

As we fully immerse ourselves in this new year, we thought we would introduce a theme for 2021: honor. You’ve already begun to see it pop up in our January Facebook posts, and we believe this theme applies to many avenues of our lives. We may think of our families or our reputations when we hear the word honor, and while those, too, may possess calls to honor, so do the various aspects that make up individual parts of who we are and how we live our lives.

Here are some dictionary definitions of the word:

1.     noun: high respect or great esteem

2.     noun: integrity

3.     verb: regard with great respect

4.     verb: fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an agreement)

From these definitions, we begin to see how powerful this word can be as we choose how we speak to and about ourselves. Do you hold yourself in great esteem or regard yourself with great respect? Do you fulfill obligations to yourself or keep agreements you make with yourself (do you follow your intentions)?

While some of us reading this may say, “yes, of course; I have one body and one life to live, so I need to make myself a priority,” some of us may be thinking of ways that we aren’t very good at these things. Some of us may forget to occasionally put ourselves first.

In many health and wellness communities, the goal of attending classes or joining a studio/gym is to “get fit.” Some people have goals of growing stronger, gaining better balance, losing weight, etc. and while these are wonderful goals, it is important to ask ourselves why these are the results we’re seeking. If, for you, it’s to instill healthier habits to help you be your best self, that’s fantastic! But if, for you, the desire for quick results stems from a dissatisfaction with some part of who you are, it’s important to make sure the attitude you’re bringing to the table is always one of positivity.

Honoring yourself doesn’t equate to complacency or not working toward desired fitness goals; instead, it means that if you aren’t seeing the results you’re seeking as quickly as you would like, you have patience and grace with yourself, knowing results take time; it means that you find the joy in exercising through practices that are good for both the body and mind rather than punishing yourself for not meeting some (self- or socially-)expected ideal. When we honor ourselves—our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our progress, and where we are in this present moment—we give ourselves a beautiful gift (of grace, of forgiveness) for lacking a perfection we can never really attain anyway.

Through honoring the space we fill right now, we can learn to love ourselves and others better and achieve goals that bring us true happiness.

The light in me sees and honors the light in you.

Namaste, and Happy Honor New Year!