Do you notice patterns in life? They might grab your attention in the form of color, design, sound, behaviors, or habits. Some of these help us sequence our lives to maintain order or organize our days. For instance, without overthinking about it, I have a waking up pattern that eases me into my day. Perhaps you do too.

There are other types of patterns I notice from the way light floods into a room casting its beautiful shadows, or the intricate designs on the petal of a flower, or the gentle clicking beat of my turn signal when I’m driving the car. Patterns can be seen and heard everywhere. This month two kept appearing. What did that mean? I thought about it in the context of gratitude and fresh starts. More than other times, we feel an energy surge that comes with the beginning of a new year. It is still the first month of the year. Many of us are thinking about our goals and laying the groundwork that will influence the coming days.

The Power of Two

So getting back to the power of two. Coincidentally, these twos that I observed arrived in the form of “R” words, which I’ll share with you.

Rainbows

In an earlier post I wrote this month, How to Boldly Reset Your New Year With Intent, Flow, and Rainbows, I described and shared a video of my New Year’s Day walk at the Croton Dam when I saw the most magnificent rainbow. Just last week, as I was driving home from a client’s organizing session, a huge rainbow arched over the sky. How unusual to see two spectacular rainbows in the same month!

When we start something new, there is excitement, anticipation, and even some anxiety. There is also hope that something different is possible. Hope encourages us to embrace growth opportunities and experience life to its fullest. Hope makes us feel that things will work out and improve. These two rainbow sightings reminded me that hope is an essential ingredient for new beginnings.

Radio

The power of two continued. Twice this month I had the pleasure of being a guest on WNYC’s “All Of It” with the fabulous host, Alison Stewart. You can read more about those experiences (including behind the scenes looks) in the January 7th and January 21stposts. During the shows I loved talking with Alison and her listeners about organizing, overwhelm, letting go, and moving forward. The responses have been positive with many great outcomes that are laying the foundation for new opportunities this year. 

Relationships

In life, there’s doing, and there’s just being. For me, there’s nothing more beautiful than spending time with my little family (Steve and our daughters). And as it turns out, my husband feels the same way. For Steve’s milestone birthday (The big 6-0!), I organized a weekend at home to be with Allison, Cassie, and her boyfriend, Dezii. We cooked, ate, hung out, played games, talked, toasted, and sang “Happy Birthday” multiple times. As I looked around, I noticed many quiet moments of intimate conversations between two people. We give and receive so much positive energy and love from those one-on-one interactions. There’s nothing quite like the power of two people bonding in a simple, genuine way. Beginning the year spending time with the people I love most was a beautiful way to start the year. It filled my heart with gratitude.

Reinvigoration

Continuing with the power of two was part two of Steve’s birthday gift where just the two of us we went away for the weekend. We saw the Andy Warhol exhibit at The Whitney, walked the High Line, and explored Chelsea Market. We continued into Brooklyn to visit our daughter, Allison, at her open studio event at Two Tree Studios. From there we headed to our old stomping ground, Williamsburg (Brooklyn) where we had lived over 33 years ago before its renaissance. There’s something so refreshing about exploring new sights, sounds, tastes, and places. Part two of Steve’s gift reminded me that integral to fresh starts is having intentional, new experiences. So even though we’d been to some of these places before, each time we explore them, we are changed. There are always new things to observe and learn. Being away from your usual environment is rejuvenating and an excellent fresh start enhancer.

Reflection

The last power of two has to do with gratitude for then and now. As I mentioned above, Steve and I used to live in Williamsburg decades ago before it was a happening place. We renovated a loft there in the early 1980s. The neighborhood has changed a lot. When we lived there, it had the highest homicide rate in any community in the five boroughs, not a statistic that my parents were happy about. There were few if any coffee shops or eateries. Although both of us remembered one amazing donut shop (ahh, those hot-out-of-the-oven French crullers,) Effie’s Continental, and Peter Luger’s Steak House. There were no shops with handmade wares and one hundred dollar scented candles. There were no clubs, hotels, expensive condos, or lovely walking parks along the river. As we explored our old neighborhood, we reminisced and appreciated the “raw” time we spent there, including the challenges we faced as we navigated those early years of love, marriage, and life in Williamsburg.

As much as we enjoyed reminiscing, we also recognized how grateful we are for the present. The Hudson Valley has become our home. We are happy to be here by the beauty of rivers in the quiet of the woods. Life will take many paths, and it’s impossible to know where the future will lead. Gratitude and reflection will always be integral to our journey.

Hope, opportunities, people, places, and thoughts. What patterns are you noticing? Have they come in twos, other numbers, colors, or experiences? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation!