Again, I’m keeping with a theme here for 2021. When I track and reflect on certain aspects of life I tend to feel more invested in myself and my growth. One of my most favorite ways to do that (and years I have witnessed the biggest growth) is through the process of documenting what I am reading and what I am learning (although the things learned are not necessarily the things I’m reading…)

I keep a running note on my phone for those light bulb moments…

Here’s my list for February:

THINGS I LEARNED:

Just about everything I learned this month is related to Covid-19, illness, trauma, anxiety, loss, death, grief and family. To be honest, I’m not even sure I’ve to the part where I have learned anything as I am still reeling from it all. I do believe, in time, I will come to a place where I can hold up the past events of February and examine them carefully for the difficult but meaningful lessons I learned. Just not today.

THINGS I READ:

I’m going to keep it brief with these book reviews. In fact, I’m going to try to mentally distill the overarching idea into one sentence per book.

What Would Dolly Do? by Lauren Marino

Dolly is her own person and lives by guiding principles and practices that have helped to create a life of meaning.

Everything Beautiful In It’s Time: Seasons of Love and Loss by Jenna Bush Hager

Grandparents are a rare gift. Family is everything. Cherish it always. Make the memories. Spend the time. Take the trips.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Slow and steady always wins. Just find the smallest incremental positive changes to make and keep doing them daily.