Goodbye 2025*

So, here’s the thing…

This is now my fourth draft of this end-of-year message to you.

Why so many drafts?

Because as a coach and SoulCollage® facilitator, a big part of me wants to wrap up the year in a huge, beautiful package for you —full of wisdom, joy, and good words.

But as Jennifer… as just me… the truth is that 2025 has been a really hard year personally. And I’ve felt more than a little phony trying to sum it up as if it’s been “just another year.”

Please don’t get me wrong—there have been moments, hours, days, and even weeks of joy. I’ve tried to share those with you here and on "the socials."

I am so profoundly grateful for the life I have.

However, the reality is that 2025 began with the deaths of a dear friend and her teenage son in a tragic accident. Shortly thereafter, we also lost someone else very dear to our family, completely unexpectedly.

I'm still grieving. 

And then there's everything that's going on in the world right now...rounding out 2025 with two horrific mass shootings, one very physically close to home and the other on the opposite side of the world, but close to my Jewish heart.

So as I sit with all of this, I find myself reflecting not on milestones or accomplishments, but on what 2025 asked of me.

This year has been one of holding opposites: grief and gratitude, heartbreak and joy. 

It's been tough.

And there is no easy wrap up.

No tidy lesson.

No fixing or reframing.

No making sense of things.

There is simply showing up everyday, holding space, and being here for ourselves and for each other. 

And perhaps taking the time to notice and acknowledge the things that shaped us.

What about you? 

What shaped you in 2025?

I invite you to join me in reflecting with compassion all that you've survived, all that you've tended to, and learned about yourself and your capacity to feel deeply and continue to move forward.

*Originally an email to the Soul Unfolding mailing list