The Period Between One Year and The Next

The period between one year and the next is usually filled with love, joy, and warmth. It is time spent with our friends and family. And it is the time in which one ending is fused with another beginning, providing an ideal opportunity for reflections and dreaming.

This period often asks us to take account of all that has passed, to draw our conclusions, and to plan. We feel as if this is the time to take significant decisions, to express our desires and to dream. Many people have asked us recently if we have taken the time to look at this last year and realize what we were satisfied with, and what would we like to change and improve in the year to come. Many even suggested that we write our goals down on paper.

How can such a year be summarized?

In truth, 2020 provided us with everything but a list of things we can recall.

It was a challenging year. Our dreams and desires could not always be the focal point of our activities. You too might have experienced difficulties in trusting your own professional targets, and may even have forgotten that you ever had any personal goals at all.

Just like everyone else, we have had to change so many of our plans this last year. And this period between one year and the next doesn’t feel at all like any other time.

What helped us during this period?

We are not alone

One of the remarkable things that happened in 2020 was the realization that we truly depend on each other. Not only on our friends and family, not only on the community of people we are connected to, but on everyone around us. On every single person in this universe.

The Coronavirus most certainly doesn’t care if we are living a happy life or not, if we are famous, or rich, young or old. The virus has no respect for geographical or political borders and as such, it somehow united us all in our search for a solution, and in our following of the news and daily updates.

In this period between one year and the next, we can also feel the impact the virus has had on the way people talk and ask us about our reflections. The questions are softer, aren’t they? People say things like: “It wasn’t an easy year, was it?”  Or they show interest in how we managed things, also eager to share their own challenges. People remind you, and themselves, that your health is one of the biggest resources you have: your mental, physical, as well as emotional health.

There is a certain partnership in dealing with this situation that everyone feels. This is not necessarily enough to help us, but it creates a situation in which many people try to understand you, if you too, share your story.

You might start a conversation with a stranger, or reach out to somebody you know. Just saying that you need a friend, or someone to talk to, gets others to listen. In times like this, when so many people share a common challenge, it is somehow easier to feel empathy from others.

Saying that, it is also the time to remember to listen to others, and offer them your support. Giving to others and showing them that they are not alone, is one of the best ways we know, to also feel the love from them in return. Connect to others. Realize that even if we are not able to be close to our loved ones at this moment, we are part of a greater community of people that need us just as much as we need them.

What are your intentions? What is your vision?

You might feel as if nothing has turned out the way that you had hoped: plans collapsed, the simple things became challenging, your finances suffered, and you were burdened with more worries than you could imagine.

However, one of the things that always helped us was to remember our own intentions. Our true desires and the reasons for doing what we do.

Our greatest motivation is the wish to live in a better society. Strike that. It is to live in a society that acknowledges how great it already is. To live among people, who enjoy the diversity and richness that each of us embodies. A society that embraces the strengths of each individual, and encourages them to let this shine.

In our professional lives, we do this through directing and teaching at our Pantarei Approach school. We teach our students to become somatic practitioners. At the base of their work lies the ability to notice the individual strengths of their clients, and support them in expressing their uniqueness.

2020 didn’t change our intentions or our vision. If anything, it deepened it. Just like the rest of humanity, we needed to adapt and change how we do things. We had to postpone some of our dreams, only to take on new challenges that would allow us to continue doing what we love to do.

We paid attention to our priorities, and we let them choose our path. We didn’t always manage, and there are days that were really tough. But all in all, this year got us another step closer to realizing our greater vision. It also showed us how incredible our community of students and practitioners are.

Trust your path

In times of uncertainty, just like in this period between one year and the next, notice where your trust lies. Notice what you trust about yourselves. Take account of the trust you have in your friends, your family and your community.

One of the things you can trust are your intentions and your vision. They might be perfectly clear to you, or they might not be.  However, your trust is required. Trust that this spark is there; this star that shows you the way.

Our path in life is not always paved with gold and glittering colors. At times it is dark and lonely, while in other moments it is happy and shared with friends. And yet, it needs our trust.

We are sure, that if you think back on your past, you will realize that everything that happened somehow moved you forward in life. If we could only go back in time, and tell ourselves that it will be all right. That those difficult moments we went through, would eventually bring us to a better place.

Remember to reflect on this, especially during times of hardship. Remember that the lights shine most brightly in the darkest of nights. Enjoy the happy, endure the difficult, be brave in letting your vision show you the way. And above all – trust. Trust yourself, and trust in life. Trust your path.

And if you need help in doing so, reach out – to a friend, to a practitioner, to someone you love.

We wish you a smooth transition from one year to the next, and we wish for all to come out of this global crisis with our hearts leading the way. 

Written by Claudia & Vered