{new year’s eve 2013 – goodness, it sure has been an eventful 12-months!!}

sunrise – snowmass village, colorado © audrey michelle 2013

it really has been a very very eventful year!  personally, i’m kind of glad to be saying good-bye to 2013.  i always say you can start over ANY time in your life, you don’t need an event like new year’s eve to make resolutions, start fresh, or even kiss a stranger 😉 but i’m still looking forward to wrapping up one year and starting a new one… i have been releasing a lot of old “stuff” over the last month… and i’m ready to welcome in the new!

i just really feel good about bringing in 2014 this year… things feel a little more peaceful in general, and that is great!

it’s been exactly 3 weeks

however, since my entire life changed in one single {terrifying} moment… i completely survived my car rolling twice on the icy highway roads on monday, december 2nd.  not a single person was harmed nor animal or lamppost involved… no semi-truck in the way, no major abrasions, pain, trauma, or overall inconvenience other than losing my awesome car, shelby the subaru. but like everyone said, “you can replace a car, you can’t replace YOU!”

i’m still shaking my head at how it even happened and most of all HOW i survived… walking away totally unscathed and mostly just in shock. the bizarre twist to all of this is that i have found many blessings come out on the other side of it all. i’m even going to write about the event, as it really did change my life. any event like that shakes up a person’s whole being… and when it’s “over”, it’s kind of impossible to claim to be the same person afterward.

i had a little neck pain, which i’m getting physical therapy for {covered by my insurance, hooray!} and for the most part i feel fine.  i was shaken a little after the accident – had a hard time sleeping at first, but i’m getting through all of that and am feeling better each day.

it’s AMAZING the amount of love and support i feel/felt after the accident. i had co-workers helping me get around {still do} and it’s actually forced me to step out of my comfortable little bubble, which is a good thing.  i’m finding positive spins from lots of different angles regarding the accident, and i’m just so beyond thankful to be here telling the story.

so, here is what happened this year – i’d say a BIG year for change :

– i moved 3 times, finishing the year out here, in my tiny home.

– i changed jobs, leaving an 8-year history with whole foods market.

– i downsized my “belongings” to fit into 200 square-feet.

– i left everything familiar in a city i grew up in.

– i relocated to the mountains; a whole different way of life.

– and then i totaled my car on the highway… flipping not only ME, but my whole world upside down – quite literally.

– which all in all, kind of forced me to start taking better care of myself overall; to start putting myself first.

———

my two biggest lessons this year were gratitude and faith.  i’ve had to learn to open up more and to trust the generous universe to take care of me, in every little way. i learned that not only does the universe want me alive, but it wants me alive and thriving.  i have much to do while i’m still here on this planet. and even if i don’t have all the answers as to WHAT that looks like exactly, i’ve been shown that i’m protected and cherished.  what a gift! i’ve also learned that at the end of the day, life is about PEOPLE.  the planet will be just fine, it will survive even if we don’t.  but what’s the point of living if we don’t have each other?!  what’s the point of doing anything if you don’t have people to love and share life with.  we need each other!

in 2014 and beyond – i wish you so much love and happiness, and that it fills your heart with such joy, you can’t help but share it with everyone you interact with.  my wish is that we all wake up every day with gratitude in our hearts, and that we open up and share our world with the people around us – family and strangers alike.  my wish for the new year is that we continue to pierce the veil, exposing truth so we can bring it to light. i wish for peace around the world, that every powerful leader would wake up and that all darkness would be brought to light through consciousness.  i wish for every collective pain to be healed, for every heart to be filled with boundless and unconditional love.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  ring it in with love above anything else.

thank you for reading.

Tags: 2013, 2014, audrey michelle, blogging, car accident, consciousness, gratitude, happiness, happy new year, heart, heart-opening, life, love, miracles, peace, stories, survival, truth, universe, writing