Cheers to my first blog post of 2017! I could not be happier to be here. We’ve found ourselves, yet again, at the beginning of a new year, which means new goals and new opportunities. Things are shifting all around us and change is in the air. Now that the champagne has dried up and we’ve swept away the last remnants of confetti, many of us are back to our daily routines wondering what’s next.If we kept it real, we would simply answer I don’t know. Because we don’t. And that’s okay. We can plan our years out down to the letter and make all the vision boards we want, but the truth is we don’t know what life has in store for us. That’s the beautiful part.

I’m reminded of Cheryl Strayed’s novel Wild where she chronicles her solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. She got the maps, she did the reading, she packed her food and scheduled her water stops. In the end, however, nothing could prepare her for the actual heat, and the actual cold, and the actual loneliness, and fear that she would experience when she got there. At the same time, nothing can take away the experience she had.

That’s life. We make our plans and we set out on our trails and we do everything in our power to meet our goals and deadlines. Sometimes we get there on time. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we smash our goals and sometimes they have to get put back on the list for next year.

I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t matter. It’s not the stuff, it’s not the goals, it’s not the checkpoints that make the difference. It’s the memories and tools and lessons we get in between that really matter. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that you’ve lost 15 pounds by March. It matters that you learned discipline. It matters that you’ve gained confidence by keeping the vow to yourself. The number is insignificant. I’m convinced that life is less about the things you accomplish and much more about the person you become as you’re accomplishing things.

So what’s next? I don’t know. But I’m going to plan, and I’m going to strive for the life I want, and then I’m going to embrace whatever comes, because I know it’s coming for a reason. I know that whatever “it” is, it is going to shape me into the person I will need to be on the other side of it.

I pray that 2017 brings blessings and lessons to all who read this. I trust that we will be able to find light in the dark places; and should we not find it, we will become it. May we love ourselves unconditionally and let it overflow to those around us. May we soak in the sun, and learn to dance to the rhythm of the rain.

Happy New Year!

Xoxo Kaisha