Last year, I did a series for Brainz Magazine: Grief, Grace, Gratitude, and Growth. (Linked here 😊). At the time, I was navigating loss, and I felt strongly that Grace could only come after the pain of grief and the realization of gratitude.
I’m not so sure anymore.
What if Grace happens all the time?
Grace used to be a hard concept for me. It’s the first principle of the now “defunct” Anusara Yoga Method: Open to Grace. If you know anything about Anusara, its founder was found to be embezzling and possibly involved in other things. I don’t know the whole story, as I didn’t want to. I know the yoga I studied for years and found grace in was no longer a “thing.”
How does one navigate something lost with grace? I use a tried-and-true 12-step principle: Take what you like and leave the rest. I cherish both the teachings and the friends I made during training. I keep the teachings and concepts and let the mistakes of the man go—his actions are not for me to judge.
Grace comes in how I handle myself every day. How do I respond to things I don’t like or agree with? The energy of the election this year was… interesting. I voted, then went to work. Done and dusted. I didn’t get caught up in anyone else’s stories, and I kept my mouth shut. A LOT.
“Never miss an opportunity to shut up.” — A favorite saying from the Rooms of Al-Anon.
Grace, for me, is not the end or beginning of anything.
Grace is learning to respond instead of react. It’s learning to sleep on it and get back to someone after I’ve given myself space to decide. Grace is saying “no” when I mean no, without guilt. Grace is setting loving boundaries that work for me. Grace means being both truthful and kind.
Most of all, grace is knowing I’m doing my best every day. Some days go my way; some days don’t. I say “sorry” when it’s warranted and fix my own mistakes, with grace.
How do you want to begin 2025? What is your word of the year?
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