Ep. 109 A Year of Patience, Deep Breaths, Loss and Joy. It's Our 2020 Recap!
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Hanging out in Madison Square Park in NYC earlier this month. Can you tell it was cold!?
Happy #SeekTheJoy Tuesday!
. . . AND happy (almost) LAST episode of 2020!
To say that 2020 has been a bumpy ride is an understatement, and I’m still not totally sure how I feel about this year.
But if there’s one thing I know for sure about 2020, it’s a year that taught me so much about patience. It’s a year that asked me to take a deep breath, to trust that everything will be okay, and to just keep moving forward.
This year has asked me to trust my definition of joy, to trust my definition of success, and trust my definition of what I can handle.
This year brought a lot of loss for me, and I know for you too. I lost my Grandpa Milt just two months ago, and in a year that has left so many of us (including me) so isolated, it’s a loss that’s still very difficult.
Grief is universal in 2020, and we’re all experiencing it in our own way. I’m learning that there’s so much we can learn from grief. The pandemic has led to a collective feeling of loss, and a loss of a sense of normalcy, and nine months later I think we’re still adjusting to this “new normal”.
Grief expands us, it allows us to be more empathetic, to relate to the pain and loss someone else is experience. I think that’s why 2020 feels like a year of greater compassion, honesty, and truth-telling, because in many ways we’re all connected in a way we’ve never been previously. 2020 has been a year of seeing the humanity in others, and I hope it’s a trend that continues in 2021 and beyond.
I’ve found 2020 to be a year of listening, too. In a year where we all want to be part of meaningful change, sometimes the best thing we can do is listen. I was reminded of this during my episode with Christen Brandt, author of IMPACT and co-founder of She’s The First.
I’m excited and grateful to be spending today's episode reflecting on the last year. I share the highs and lows, the podcast's standout moments of 2020, and the lessons, growth, and joy that we've experienced together. It's our 2020 Year in Review - filled with reflections on what this year has taught us, the impact of grief, patience, and trust, journal reflection prompts for 2020 and 2021, what's next for Seek The Joy, and so much more!
P.S. after today's episode, we'll have one more new episode next week and then we’ll be off for two weeks, and back to kick off 2021 with a fresh new episode on January 5th! I can’t wait!
What a rollercoaster.
Even in the midst of a difficult year, there were so many highlights for Seek The Joy. We celebrated three years of Seek The Joy Podcast (a milestone I never imagined!) We grew in countries all over the world, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to share my journey and the show's story on different platforms and podcasts (including speaking at Podbean’s Podcast Wellness Week!) and I’ve heard from more of you than ever before.
The biggest highlight though has been the constant connection with all of you, and this community that we’re building together.
We launched a new series in February called “Lessons In” and I’m so happy that we launched this series, and so grateful for the response it’s received. Through conversations focused on life’s biggest lessons, this series explores the joys we can find through these experiences, and the connection and community we create through sharing our reflections. By the end of 2020, we’ll have shared 15 (!!) episodes in this seres, and I’m so excited for it to continue. From lessons in self-worth, boundaries, and energy healing, to resilience and remaining flexible, every episode and conversation has left us feeling inspired, motivated, and full of joy.
February and the beginning of March were business as usual, and then the pandemic hit here in the United States. I remember coming home from work on Thursday March 12th not knowing when we’d go back to the office. I had this huge box with me of my files, but what I carried with me was a sense of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and overwhelm. I know that you felt it too.
In April, I realized that it was time to move The Power of Storytelling to its own podcast. Over the last three years the response to this series has been phenomenal, and I’m so grateful.
Enter Stories of Inspiring Joy.
If you haven’t checked out our sister podcast, I would love for you to tune in. You can find all episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and if you like the show hit subscribe, leave us a rating and review, and follow along @storiesofjoypod on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Now more than ever we need these stories, your stories, moments that will bring us together in community, and remind us that we’re never alone, even when we feel so far apart.
The summer FLEW by! But it wasn’t short of incredible conversations. From John Clarence Stewart to Kelly Rutherford, August might just be my favorite month on Seek The Joy.
In October we celebrated THREE YEARS, and it was fun to share a solo episode reflecting on the last three years, my biggest takeaways, and why it’s so important to celebrate ourselves.
I truly can’t get over the conversations we had on the podcast this year. Our first episode of 2020 was with Reyna Noriega, visual artist, photographer, educator and writer, and I think that episode completely set the tone for this year. We had conversations with incredible entrepreneurs like Olivia Herrick, Logan Sneed, Liesl Ulrich-Verderber, and Ardre Orie. We had powerful conversations about wellness and healing with Katie DePaola, Katie Calder, Amanda & Christopher Dahl, Amy White and Liliana Barzola. We had empowering conversations about mental health with Asha Terry, Achea Redd, and Lisa Poe. We had transformative conversations with John Clarence Stewart, Kelly Rutherford, and Christen Brandt, all just to name a few.
2020 wasn’t a big year of photos, but sharing some of my favorites from this year!
It’s no secret that every aspect of our lives has been affected by the pandemic, the struggle for racial justice this year, the 2020 election, and so much more. My conversation with Ardre Orie reminded me of the power in writing our own narrative, and how especially in 2020, it’s important that everyone document their experience.
I wanted to share some questions and reflections for the year ahead in the hopes that they will help and inspire you too.
How has this year challenged and changed you?
How will you remember this time in your life?
How can you document this time in your life? Whether it’s through journaling, voice notes, Instagram posts, or music, I encourage you to find a way to document this time.
As Amy White shared with us there are gifts to be found in this moment, in this global pause, and we get to choose the impact that this time has on us. We can let it define us, or we can allow it transform us. What gifts has 2020 brought you?
How has this year changed your perspective?
What is one thing you want to do, be, feel, or experience in 2021?
If you could pick a word for 2020 what would it be? If you could pick a word for 2021 - a word that captures how you want to feel, what you want to experience, and what you want to share with the world - what would it be?
Remember it’s okay to not know what’s next. It’s ok to not have a plan. But always, keep dreaming.
2021 Here We Come.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction of Seek The Joy in 2021, and I keep coming back to the importance of sharing both the joy and the loss. I plan to continue to share empowering and powerful conversations. Conversations that inspire and empower, conversations that challenge us, conversations that remind us of our joy, conversations that remind us of our shared humanity.
This year really allowed me the opportunity to solidify what I’ve felt all along: Seek The Joy is here to be part of an intentional media space. I’ve spent this year thinking about our role in storytelling, in shaping conversations, and in supporting our communities. The ability to harness the power of storytelling, build connections, and open ourselves up to new ideas is the power of podcasting, and of this community.
What I know for sure is that we can’t come together in community, we can’t explore our joys and passions, we can’t grow through moments of difficulty, adversity and challenges if we don’t talk about, and fully wrap our arms around, what’s happening in the world.
The truth is we can hold joy, inspiration, passion and hope in one hand, and grief, frustration, anger, and loss in the other.
In 2021, we’re going to continue to have real, authentic, and honest conversations. We’re going to continue to talk about our joys and moments of inspiration, but we’re also going to talk about what’s happening in the world. It’s through these conversations that we can find greater joy, explore their impact, and talk about real change, while still providing a space of joy, inspiration and empowerment.
If 2020 has shown me anything, it’s that we can learn and grow together through powerful, honest, and impactful conversations. Joy can, and does, exist at the same time as hardship, challenge, deep inner growth, learning, and healing.
I’m excited to continue this journey, and I hope you are too!
While I won't be airing any new episodes during the last 2 weeks of 2020, there are so many great episodes and conversations to check out, plus don't forget about Joy Corner and Stories of Inspiring Joy. There’s so much good stuff on this platform to explore.
I'll still be around, and I’d love it if you’d come hang out with me on Instagram Facebook and Twitter and let's connect.
Sending you all a big hug, so much love, and wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season.
In joy and love (always!)
Sydney
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JOY CORNER: Our interview-style blog series spotlighting inspiring souls, moments that bring you joy, products we love, and so much more. Join our corner of the internet - share your joys, passions, and moments of inspiration. Ready to share your light, magic and joy? Get in touch here - a new post in this series goes live on our site every Thursday.
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“LESSSONS IN” SERIES: In this new series, we're sharing our reflections on life’s biggest lessons and the joys we find through these experiences - all to create greater connection and community. Every episode features a conversation that will inspire, motivate, and get you thinking- and we can't wait to grow with you. Ready to join us and share a lesson that impacted your life? Fill out our interest form here.
YEAR OF YOU 2021: We're excited to share that Sydney will be speaking at the Year of You 4-day Virtual Retreat. If you’re interested in finding more awareness, balance, and healing so that you can feel VIBRANT, show up POWERFULLY, and CONSCIOUSLY create the life that you deep-down desire and DESERVE. If you are ready to channel more JOY and ABUNDANCE in your life and share your UNIQUE GIFTS (the ones that you and only you possess) with the world (and the world sure does need it now more than ever), check out the YEAR OF YOU 4-day VIRTUAL RETREAT dedicated to giving you the education and inspiration you need to make 2021 the YEAR OF YOU! To learn more and register for this incredible free event click here
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