As I sit here in my house, waiting for my opportunities to travel, explore, and reconnect with friends and family who I haven’t seen in months, I can’t help but recognize an energetic shift that has so discreetly happened within me over this past year.

And really, not even just within me, but within all of us.

It’s so fascinating to see that all of us have been collected and put into this time of great change, adversity, limits, and uncertainty. We have also been able to find the means to connect together in a way that, personally, I have never seen before.

My hope is that it will continue, but, of course, the future stays unwritten while in this moment.

The beauty of this time can be so deeply recognized and, honestly, I prefer to see it that way.

I do not turn a blind eye to all the struggle, loss, illness, or even that widely spread challenge that has showcased all of the world’s misdoings.

We do have to remember, though, that we are left with a choice. We are left with the power to make meaning out of the things that we experience. That all that is here is essentially meaningless until we subscribe to it with a meaning of our own.

With that being said, the year 2020 is one for the history books. It has wreaked chaos on all those who have lived through this time. It has blown up our consciousness, revealing systems and relationships that, in the past, were not ideal. Now we see it all. From now on, we have the choice of what we will do about it—how we will move forward.

I find it humbling to know that we have all now lived in this pandemic; that we all, every soul on this Earth, people, animals, anything living, have now made their way through this year and have been given the gift of life—the gift of reality and the gift to be shown all that had been waiting to be seen.

For myself, this point of view changes my whole outlook on what my purpose is here, what I am here for, and what my existence can do for future generations. Now, I’m not saying that it has to be big and broadcasted, but this year has made it extremely clear that our choices—made today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter—will inevitably affect all that is to come.

I think, deep down, we all know this. We all make choices knowing that it affects our future; some may even fear that responsibility. But now it’s amplified, and now we are left with the choice to change. Are we going to dedicate our lives to growth, love, and peace?

Are we going to continue to live with our eyes open and accept those nasty things that may be seen? It’s up to us to recognize it. Or maybe we choose differently. Either way, I still find gratitude in the fact that I am here to live it.

With all this said, compassion is a huge factor. Different people walk different lives, and that’s okay. Energetically, I find that some will ascend to different levels of consciousness, openness, and acceptance faster than others, but all in due time, we will all get there.

I have felt every emotion this year, this month, even this week, as I am being asked to grow and be reminded of all that I have to offer—all the purpose that I hold in merely being alive. Some days, my energy will be wildly high, and the next, I could be sleeping for hours, unable to be tracked. But the blessing in all of it is that I have found my strength. I have found my power. I have also found and opened up to the strength and power of all those I come into contact with, and even those who I may never meet.

All in all, we have a choice in the perspective that we take. We have a choice of anger or a choice of love. That is up to you. That is your choice, and that is left in your hands; it is your soul’s path and life to be had.

For myself, I sit in awe, in admiration and gratitude, of what this year has brought for me.

Yes, it was hard. It was messy. It was painful. Some days, my only goal was to continue to live. Having lived through that, I find myself recognizing that I have learned something great. Something that I, myself, wouldn’t have been able to learn if it was not for this year.

With this, I want to send out my greatest blessings to everyone. To all the people who have lived this year with me: I see you. And even though we may see pain as a scale, that one’s experience is worse than another, I like to think that the energy and the feelings are all the same.

Just because you have not lost a family member, or have not been directly affected by the world’s events, does not mean that you are not worthy of emotion. We all carry the weight of this experience, and we all can heal—individually and collectively.

This year, we were all on a level playing field; there is not one person on this planet who hasn’t lived through a pandemic.

As we are awakened to the great inequality, the great turmoil, and massive amounts of fear, there is gratitude to be had. We are aware; we have a choice. Our destiny is no longer standing behind the curtain, disallowing us to even have a say, as it has shown itself. Now, we get to choose what we want it to be.

Moving forward, our energy will speak greatly beyond what words can speak.

We can welcome the idea that being alive is purposeful enough to keep going. That we have so much to offer. That, because our hearts are still beating, there is still meaning.

As those around us and across the world from us are in spaces of shadowed doubt and decreased hope, I hope we will see that what is needed is love.

I hope that we can all see that this year has brought out so much pain, but just like us humans, the world also must feel it in order to heal it. We have to be awakened to the pain in order to begin to acknowledge it—to heal it, to change it.

It really was a worldwide purging, wasn’t it?

The road has been long and rocky, especially for those who deeply feel and resonate as empathetic and energetically inclined. It’s been overwhelming. But this year has also given me hope for what we can accomplish.

Maybe this was the wake-up call we needed to be shown. Maybe we needed to see how connected we all are.

Everything truly does happen for a reason.