Many people around the globe are celebrating the close of 2020. It has been a year that has brought challenge and struggle to everyone on the planet, regardless of personal situation. Adults have fought to keep bills paid, small business owners to keep their dreams alive, and children to survive online learning (parents too!). Many have had to say lonely and painful goodbyes to loved ones…hard to imagine for most of us. This year has completely altered the way we communicate with and show up for friends and family. One would say there has been nothing valuable about it…or has there? As I reflect on the past year, I see lessons that were not obvious to me in the moment. I can come up with three for sure: the peace that comes from slowing down, the absolute joy of taste, and the soulful good that comes from self care.
When my business was shut down in March of 2020, I was devastated and could not imagine 3 months of closure… how was I going to survive? As I settled into not working, I began to take note of how relaxed I was. I started reflecting on how crazed my schedule had been. I worked long days in my studio and was always concerned about squeezing in as many clients as possible. After all, time is money, right? Wrong! When we were given the go ahead to open with time consuming sanitizing requirements, I was sure that I would not make it. In the end, I again settled into acceptance. By doing so, I found that spending more time with my clients gave me the opportunity to be peaceful in my day and help them in all aspects of their brow and skin care. I had time to answer questions completely and create a real boutique atmosphere that has proven, from a business perspective, to be successful rather than offering up doomsday. For that, I send up thanks to the Divine!
Then Saturday, November 7th came knocking. I woke up with a severe headache. This was not necessarily unusual after a long week of esthetics, so I took some Tylenol and felt perfectly fine. I am sure you know where this story is going. By Wednesday, after blaming Starbucks for not giving it their best in the making of my sweet cream cold foam, I realized that I had lost my taste and smell. The fever began and my Covid-19 test was positive. I continued with moderate symptoms for 10 days, and I was immensely grateful that I did well through its entirety. When asked what the worst part was, I always say that the loss of taste was miserable. The day I got my taste back was a glorious day! One of the great joys in life is tasting the dimensions of flavor in good food. It is definitely something I will not take for granted again.
What this year has also taught me is that I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of the beauty industry. I have had the opportunity to touch women’s lives and give them back a part of themselves, including joy and self confidence. What we do for our clients not only helps them face the world feeling beautiful, our work can also help calm, heal, and soothe their souls. Many of my clients this year have told me that coming to see me is the one thing that they have continued to do for themselves amidst complete chaos at home. In some ways, it helps to alleviate the feeling of failing on all fronts (a special shoutout to all of the moms). This year has clearly and boldly brought to light the importance of self care, and it is truly a joy to play a role in helping women give back to themselves.
I dare say, I am not exaggerating when making the analogy that we are ALL kicking 2020 out with a boot in the rear (I think that is a country song). But, do not throw out the baby with the bathwater! If you have spent 2020 doing what I believe it was intended for, it’s possible to look back with some gratitude.
Happy New Year!