Adversity, Resilience and Sanctuary

Last week I was on a phone call with a good friend and she asked me, “Looking back at 2019, what word would you give the year as a descriptor, now that it’s over?”

It gave me a pause. I had picked the word “manifest” for 2019 at its beginning. And indeed I manifested some amazing things.

• I purchased a building for Lisa Kahn Designs. Hooray!
• I transferred to a new, more challenging graduate school and aced my first class.
• I found meaning and transformation in what I learned in my class on integral ecologies.
• I created a second sanctuary space for myself at home: a quiet, beautiful study where I can - really focus on my school work.
• I outfitted my husband’s sanctuary (his music studio) with a beautiful studio desk that holds his music equipment and hides all of those black cables that are a part of recording music.
• The business had a banner year. Philip and I could not be more pleased.
• My children are healthy and each thriving in their way. We are full of gratitude for that.

There were also several more challenging situations that occurred this year. I won’t make a list (Philip might be reading this - ha!), but a couple of them were doozies, and really asked more of me than I would have dreamed back in January.

Looking back at the year, however, I realized that I was able to roll with the punches this year in a way that I never have before. It turns out I am more resilient than I’ve ever been.

A byproduct of my sanctuary work and the effect of sanctuary in my life? Decidedly yes.

That’s just part of what sanctuary does for me. Keeping in close touch with who I really am, what is important to me, and staying grounded in gratitude on a daily basis has made a huge difference in my life.

What a thing to be grateful for.

Now I’d like to ask you — would you like to share what is your word for 2019 now that it’s over? I’d love to read what it is.

With gratitude,

Lisa