What 2019 Has Taught Us

What 2019 has taught us

Our top 5 lessons

I’m so happy to be recording with Dee this month…I missed her! I thought this would be the perfect time for us to talk about this past year. I wanted us to reflect on 2019 and make a list of some things the past year taught us or what we took from the universe. Here they are:

Shannon’s Five Lessons

#1 Humbleness

I’ve been struggling with some health issues this year. Well, really it’s been for many years. But this year all the things I’d been doing to manage it stopped working. It was hard because I had already given up so much and made so many changes to address my health problems. Now I was being asked to give up more. 

I really had to eat a big slice of humble pie. I reminded myself that you’re never too good to try something new. To look at this problem in a new way. 

#2 Nothing is permanent. 

This also came to me because of my health journey. I really relied on my diet/lifestyle/workout routine that I used to keep my health consistent. When it all stopped working, I was really shaken. Then I remembered something I always used to say: 

“Everything you think is permanent is never permanent.”

Not only was my solution impermanent, but the sickness was impermanent too. Now that I’ve tried some new things that I would never have been open to before, I’m feeling better than ever!

I feel like this is so relevant in every part of our lives: relationships, jobs, goals, dreams, feelings, emotions, shit storms, blessings. NONE of it is permanent. 

#3 Joy can come from unexpected places. 

This lesson is directly linked to my product line that I never in a million years thought I would do. I started making candles as a creative hobby. If you would have told me this would turn into a business that would bring me so much joy and be a financial blessing, I would have laughed so hard! 

I cannot tell you have much joy I receive not just from making the candles, but in working with one of my best friends doing it and especially from hearing how much customers love them! Dee says she brags about them all the time because she loves the product, packaging and all the details. She says she can feel my joy coming through the product (aww, thanks Dee!).

#4 Patience

Many of you know that after five years of searching, we found the perfect piece of land for our Retreat Ranch in Texas. I just love it! I’m telling you, when I step on to this land it is like my soul is home. I can just see in my mind all the amazing things that are going to happen there. 

As you can imagine, there’s a lot of work to do. And there have been many obstacles, which is really exercising my patience muscle. 

It’s like you just baked a cake and can see it in the oven, but you can’t eat it. And it’s not just any cake. It’s a cake with all your favorite ingredients, everything you love. I mean EVERYTHING, like french fries and whipped cream. It’s all in there, but you can’t get to it yet!

Dee says it reminds her of the saying, “the joy is in the journey.” And then I threaten to come through the computer and knock her the F*& out (just joking!)

But it’s true, if I could just snap my fingers and have it all complete I wouldn’t truly appreciate it- yet in the meantime I am striving to find joy in the process. 

#5 Stop forcing it! (It’s OK to not be OK.)

Did you happen to hear HHP Episode 89 when Kim DeMoss and I talked about this? Basically, this year really taught me that life is not a race and that it’s OK if you aren’t where you thought you’d be. What’s happening right now is perfect. So stop forcing things to be a certain way. 

I always believe there’s a reason or a lesson for a challenge. I think this is why my health was kicking my ass so much this year…to tell me to stop resisting and forcing- and it is an applicable lesson for many aspects of our lives. 

Dee’s Five Lessons

Hi guys! It’s Dee here, and these are my five (actually 6) lessons of 2019: 

#1 The better you feel, the more you allow. 

This is a quote from Abraham Hicks. I’ve talked about it before but learned it in a new way this year. I had to truly embrace it, understand it, and put it into practice. By May, it began taking shape for me. I really prioritized alignment in May through August. The only thing I cared about was how I felt. Suddenly good things were coming like rapid fire! 

#2 Certainty is a choice. It’s always available. And it has the power to alleviate fear and anxiety. 

When we’re in the middle of a bad time, we can’t see the end of it. We often think this is just the way it is, our new normal. What I decided to focus on was my vision. This vision was about how I wanted to feel and the bigger picture of things. No timeline attached. 

I got so clear about that vision, that it began to feel absolutely certain. I had this visceral knowing that if I could see the vision so clearly, it had to be coming! 

Now when things go wrong in the present, I can say “That’s no big deal. I know where I’m going!” I don’t need to spend time in anxiety and fear today, because I’m absolutely certain I’m going to get to that place. 

#3 Linear is limited.   

If you have a goal, don’t limit yourself to the number of paths that can get you there. Here’s an example. If Shannon said there were ten categories that would bring her joy and her candle making didn’t fit in one of those categories, she would have limited herself.

 If you get stuck on a result coming from a specific path, then you’re limiting that result from coming at all. 

It helps to make a list of all the possible options. No matter how silly. Make a list of a hundred different ways to get to your goal. It opens your mind. 

#4 The person is irrelevant.

This is another one from Abraham Hicks. I started seeing someone this year and I really focused on my own alignment and taking them out of the equation. If you recognize that it’s all about and within you, then they don’t have to be the perfect person. 

It’s tricky to learn because it’s easy to nitpick and judge. I had to listen to this lesson seven billion times to get it!

And then there’s another lesson that says “Oh, there you are. I would have waited another five minutes for you!” It speaks to patience and being happy in the waiting. That this match is so good that you would have gladly waited another five minutes for such a wonderful partner. 

If you are single and dating, I highly recommend listening to Abraham Hicks on YouTube. 

#5a The thing that bothers you is your teacher. 

As I travel along my spiritual path I become more aware of my thoughts, my actions, my reactions. And I’m noticing there are so many opportunities to learn. And while my natural inclination is to ask someone to act differently for my happiness, I now say “Nope, this is my lesson and my teacher.”

#5b Allow!

I know, 5a and 5b is cheating. But I love this one so much, I had to fit it in here. 

Allow. I want this as a tattoo. That’s how much this word is my teacher right now! Just allow things to be as they are and don’t try to fix what isn’t yours to fix. 

Here’s an example. While in traffic the other day, I was going over and over in my mind how to fix things. My dog had an issue I wanted to fix. My friend had an issue I wanted to fix. And after a while I said to myself, “Ooo, my energy sucks right now!” I was trying to fix all these things that were not my work. 

Just allow. Whatever is happening is teaching you. Because we live in a physical world with tangible things, we think that if we surrender it means we do nothing because trying to fix everything makes us feel ‘busy’. 

The real power is in the releasing. You’re more of a hero when you are managing your energy.

There you have it. The lessons that 2019 has shared with us. What lessons has this year shared with you? We are so thankful for you, our tribe! Here’s to a kick-ass 2020!

Tune into the show and let us know the lessons you learned.