One Easy Question for Happy Reflection
A simple question for finding the gold in your year and in your life. Plus, the Top Five Posts from 2024.
You don’t need me to give you any advice for reflecting on your past year or setting goals. Which works out because I, for once, don’t have any. But you might enjoy answering this new favorite question of mine: “What was one of your favorite hours of the year?”
It doesn’t have to be exactly an hour—it might be five minutes or three hours. But per the rules of this game I just made up, it has to be a small window of time. This is how you get to the flecks of absolute gold in an experience, in your year, in your life. Those flecks of gold add up to nuggets and nuggets add up to a life wealthy in the ways that matter most.
For one friend, one of her favorite hours was the impromptu comedy routine a fellow camper did on a wilderness trip as they sat around the fire carving spoons. She had told me about her trip months ago, but I didn’t catch a glimpse of the magic of it until she shared this single experience as one of her favorites of the whole year. Gold.
For another friend, some of her favorite couple hours of the year were those she spent wandering around a German forest with her 13-year-old son, looking for a geocache. They hopped off the train, stashed their backpacks in the brush, and explored happily. She’d shared a recap of her trip with me, but hearing her talk about this particular experience—and knowing it was one of her favorites of the whole year—I “got” it this time. Gold.
For me, some of my favorite hours of 2024 were playing Code Names until the wee hours of the morning with girlfriends from college. There was much, much hilarity. Sorry for all the teasing, Giselle! Another brief but favorite window was spontaneously dancing—ballet and hip-hop if you must know—with my teenage niece in the foyer of my parents’ home while my teenage nephew played piano. Who knew Chopin was so danceable? Owen is a fabulous piano player but neither Sarah nor I are “dancers.” There was much laughter.
None of these favorite hours were “supposed” to be anything of note. Just people going about a day, not expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen. Not forcing anything. Not one of these moments of gold could have been brought about with a declaration: “Now, we’re going to do something really special/fun/meaningful.” There were no “shoulds” involved in the making of these magical memories, no agenda, no pretending. They were pure, unforced, true, real.
You might have a favorite hour that wasn’t at all playful. Maybe it was a heart-to-heart conversation, that rescued a relationship. Or maybe it was an experience like the one shared by a friend years ago—of an hour atop an Irish cliff, feeling so alive and loved by God. Maybe it was having a break-through on the life problem you’ve been trying to solve. Maybe it was winning gold in a pickleball tournament you were afraid to enter. Or maybe one of your favorite hours was hilarious like the ones I shared, and you remember it for the laughter. Whatever it was, would you share? What was one of your favorite hours of 2024?
Top Five Posts of 2024
Speaking of favorites, I thought I’d share the Top Five posts of More to Your Life . These are the posts you dear readers enjoyed most by highest number of reads.* What delights me is that my favorite one to write was also your favorite one to read ❤️
*Some of these are available only to paid subscribers, but as an end-of-the-year gift, I’d be happy to gift any interested readers a month-long free subscription—just email me back and I’ll get you added to the special list.
SFTR: Don't End up On "Dateline"
A note about this post: One of my new best friends told me last year that she could never do all the traveling I’ve done for the past 18 months. I’m going on something like nine European countries on two separate trips, a 15-day Transatlantic boat journey, 30-ish US states and counting. She shook her head and said, “No, I’m too much of a homebody.” And was then floored when I told her I am actually a homebody as well.
Expanding Your Personal Autonomy
There are three things I know more than ever after leaving corporate and “traveling the world and the seven seas.” (Or at least spending a decent portion of last year in Europe and sailing on a couple seas on a boat journey back to the United States.)
How Buying a One-Way Ticket to Rome is Unlocking Unexpected Opportunities
The one-way ticket to Rome you buy at the same time you put your house on the market and put in notice at your job will, yes, take you to Rome. But you can’t even imagine where else it will take you, literally and figuratively.
Your Own Definition of Enough
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, a favorite former coworker (Jessica) popped to mind. As I am wont to do with friends and family, I called her out of the blue to see how life post-layoff was going. Forget exchanging multiple texts to figure out when we’re mutually available; how about that old-fashioned, non-corporate, pick-up-the-phone-and-just-call thing?
"It Was Working Out All Along"
My first failed teenage dream venture was with my younger brother, Parley, and it wasn’t his fault. I squandered my portion of the funds needed to build a legitimate clubhouse of our own, even after months of planning, designing it, creating blueprints, and estimating materials at Ace Hardware.
Word of the day: fleck.
Love this post!
I love this Emily! My favorite moment of 2024 has to be the moment I received a picture of my son's "Student of the Week" certificate. He has worked so hard the last year or two on improving his overall behaviors, so this was monumental for him and us!