Farewell to 2025


December is upon us! I hope you are spending this season gathering with loved ones and enjoying a slower pace of life. As December rolls around, there’s often a quiet moment — between the busyness, the gatherings, and the year-end noise — when we start to look back.

We might think about what went well throughout the year, what didn’t, and where the time even went. But real reflection isn’t about judgment or checking boxes. It’s about slowing down long enough to notice yourself — your growth, your challenges, and everything in between.

I encourage everyone to take a routine inventory, helping cultivate gratitude for all we have and clarifying the vision we hope to manifest in our lives.

If you’re ready to take a mindful look at your year, here are some gentle suggestions to center your thoughts.

Start with Curiosity, Not Criticism

When you think back over the past year, try to let go of the instinct to measure or evaluate. Think about moments that stood out — not just the big milestones, but the small ones too.

What felt meaningful? What surprised you? When did you feel most at peace… or most challenged?

Reflection is about noticing, not judging. You don’t need perfect answers — just honesty.

Notice How You’ve Grown

Growth doesn’t always look like big, visible change. Sometimes it’s quiet — a little more patience, a little more courage, a little more compassion for yourself.

Maybe you set a boundary for the first time. Maybe you handled a tough situation differently than you would have before. Maybe you simply got through something hard. Ask yourself: “What would the version of me from last December be proud of right now?” You might be surprised by how much progress you’ve made, even if it didn’t feel like it day-to-day.

Let Yourself Feel the Full Spectrum

Looking back can bring up all kinds of emotions — joy, pride, regret, sadness. That’s okay.

It’s normal to grieve what didn’t happen or what was lost, even while feeling grateful for what did. Both can exist at the same time.

End with a Moment of Gratitude

Before you move on, pause. Take a slow breath. Think of one thing you’re grateful for about yourself — maybe your resilience, your kindness, or simply the fact that you kept showing up. Reflection doesn’t have to be about fixing anything. Sometimes it’s just about acknowledging what’s truthful about your life.

This time of year can bring both comfort and complexity. Be gentle with yourself as you look back. Your year wasn’t meant to be perfect — it was meant to be lived, learned from, and felt. Here’s to carrying forward what nourishes you, letting go of what doesn’t, and stepping into the next chapter with curiosity, courage, and care.

Greet 2026 with hope, my friends. We are all constantly evolving, learning as we go, doing this human thing together. 


- Rae Cowen, LMFT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When the Trees are Bare

Image
Hello FPA and Happy New Year to you each! January has arrived, along with it a new start as we welcome 2025. In our part of the world a new year comes in the middle of our winter season- when the trees are bare. I write a lot about the changing of the seasons and the way our weather affects us. I think because one of the universal human experiences is the experience of weather. Weather is also a way to connect to our own communities, as we experience the changing seasons together. The energy of the collective shifts as the energy of the sun and the rain and the temperatures shift. I also love connecting to the changing of the seasons. As life comes in seasons, in waves of celebration and sadness, in ups and downs of abundance and scarcity, so does our environment. I've been thinking this season about the juxtaposition of newness with winter. The idea of 'new' brings with it ideas of spring, of blossoms and baby animals, of growth and expansion. Winter is not a time of growt...
Read more

Unspoken: (The Hidden Crisis of) Men's Mental Health

Image
Hello to FPA as we welcome the month of June! You might not be aware that June is designated as Men's Health Month , which is why I want to share some thoughts with you specifically about men's mental health. You'll notice as I write that I make some generalizations about both male culture and female culture, and I want to note up top that of course these things are not true for all individuals and that my language choice of men/man is not exclusionary to other masculine gender identities. So why am I writing about this and what's the problem here? Men don't talk about things that need talking about.  What outcome does that yield? Men suffer. They suffer in silence. They feel alone. They are at much higher risk of death by suicide.  What are we going to do about that? Talk to our men. Men, talk to each other. The conversation is truly just beginning about men's mental health and how it intersects with our cultural ideas of masculinity and the expectations we pla...
Read more

All I know About Love

Image
Hello FPA friends and Happy February! This month I want to share with y'all a poem that was read by my brother during my wedding ceremony. I just think it's lovely and captures some foundational ideas about how I view romantic relationships. I hope you read it and enjoy it and maybe take a moment to reflect on the relationships in your life- the ones you've had, the ones you've witnessed in your families, the ones you hope to someday have. Does your love look the way you want it to? Does it look the way you need it to? What part can you play in building a healthier connection to the ones most important to you? This poem was written by Neil Gaiman, for his friends on their wedding day: This is everything I have to tell you about love:  nothing. This is everything I've learned about marriage:  nothing .   Only that the world out there is complicated, and there are beasts in the night, and delight and pain, and the only thing that makes it okay, sometimes, is to reach ...
Read more