I sometimes feel a little anxious as the year moves to a close.

Did I do enough this year?

Did I enjoy it enough?

Did I spend the year well?

Are all my t’s crossed and my i’s dotted?

Is my house clean enough to start a new year?

The way I deal with this anxiety is to listen to what my body and the Earth are telling me.

I don’t entirely resonate with the way our calendar is organized, to be honest. Right at the time when we feel like crawling into bed and hibernating, the marketing machine is telling us to get to the gym, resolve to reinvent our lives, and become the skinniest, most productive, most spiritual, and “balanced” versions of ourselves.

But the Earth is telling us to slow down and go within. The winter (which technically begins on the darkest day of the year, which happened last week on the 21st) is the macrocosm for the time of the month that begins at the dark of the moon and the time of menstruation.

This is a great time to reflect, listen to your intuition (which is stronger during this time of stillness), rest, and take stock of your year and your life.

It also happens to be Mercury Retrograde which adds extra power to the energy asking us to slow down and review.

This week Mike and I are doing our year-end review (a process you can hear all about on our podcast on the topic) and annual planning.

To that end, I want to share my favorite posts from 2016 with you. I think it’s highly unlikely you’ve read all of these already, because, you know, you probably have other things to do than read my blog. Plus, one of the most important parts of our annual review is celebrating what went well. (Remember – we all need to learn to toot our own horn for the betterment of everyone!)

In the spirit of slowing down, taking stock, and celebration, I give you my Greatest Hits of 2016. Peruse the list of titles, click on the ones that resonate most, and enjoy!

Don’t wish it away. Are you a prayer? I thought this was going to be easier. How my boobs changed my relationship with money. Judgement and what we think about the things we haven’t experienced. On control and the inherent brittleness of being rigid. What do you stand for? On fighting, peace, and the semantics of change.

I hope you’ll join me in slowing down this season, as opposed to buying in to the racket about gearing up and going harder during the very months that your body and the Earth are calling you to listen more closely to yourself and cocoon. When springtime comes and the energy shifts towards new beginnings, your beginnings will be that much more powerful. And don’t forget to celebrate what was great in 2016 while you’re at it!

OVER TO YOU:

What are your “greatest hits” of 2016? What are you proud of? What went great? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!