As 2023 comes to a close, it can be tempting to sprint towards resolutions, new plans and fresh calendars. New possibilities and new beginnings are always alluring but any human on this complex living planet has much to digest from this year. Any year. So instead of a cursory glance at 2023, I suggest a rewind; time to reflect so you might move into next year with more awareness, and perhaps, more compassion for yourself and for others. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we’ve endured or how far we’ve come.
I like to start my end-of-year reflection with December and move through each month until the beginning. Each thread, each month, reveals a rich breadth of experience and when I finally reach January, it's not with a blank slate, but with a tapestry of stories. Going backwards, I might also notice patterns or blind spots that help me move into the new year with deeper and clearer intentions.
I invite you to find a quiet space where you can free-write, set a timer for your allotted time (30 minutes or more?) and explore your year. When I shared the following end-of-year prompts with my Thursday writing group it was emotional and beautiful. Each month became a poem.
Here are some prompts to help you begin:
DECEMBER - JANUARY:
When December began, I imagined…
Now it feels like…
I hope it will be…
I will forgive myself if…
In November I longed for…
I cried when…
I was grateful for…
In October, I was hungry for…
I daydreamed about…
I felt lost when…
September started with…
I felt such pleasure when…
I was in love with….
August tasted like…
smelled like…
looked like…
sounded like…
In July, I craved…
I received…
I lost…
June was unexpected because…
I grew when…
I laughed when…
May opened with…
Gave me…
Left me with…
April was beautiful because…
I had a hard time with…
I resolved…
March arrived with…
I breathed a sigh of relief when…
I planted and cared for…
In February I let go of…
I loved the moment when…
I was excited about…
January began with…
I wanted to…
I promised myself I would…
I hoped to…
Additional prompts and questions to explore:
Make a list of your most memorable moments of the year (try listing via season or monthly) then choose a few to journal/free-write about.
How are you different from a year ago?
Who or what had the biggest impact on your life? How did you have fun? What brought you pleasure?
What energized you? What drained you?
Is there anything you would like to leave in 2023 and head into 2024 free from? •If you had to give 2023 a title, what would it be?
This year, instead of brushing past the rich experiences — both joyful and awful — of 2023, let’s take a little time to process and digest them. To embrace life’s full spectrum; the sunlight and the inevitable shadows, the pleasures and the pain. For it is in the embrace of it all that we find ourselves, ready to weave a future rich with the wisdom of a year fully lived.
I’m doing a look back of 2023 by going through the photos on my phone - your journaling prompts plus photos should make for some great journaling!
ouhh love this idea of combing through the threads of the year month by month. Very thorough and thought provoking indeed. I have never done it in such a way before and am excited to see what comes to the surface through this practice. It is a beautiful way to bring in rich reflections and insights.