What I saw in the rearview mirror...

I’m feeling extra grateful… for you.

Even if we’ve never met.

Even if you’ve never replied.

Even if you quietly read these notes while sipping tea or avoiding your to-do list for five minutes ☕

I still feel like we’re connecting on some subtle frequency through these messages.

Your presence gives me a reason to create, to share, to follow what’s lighting up inside me, and to offer what feels nourishing and true.

You help keep this space alive, and in ways you may not realize, you’ve helped me grow too.

So before anything else: thank you 🤍

This time of year naturally invites me to pause and sink into reflective gratitude.

I’m not a big calendar-year celebrator (to be real, I’m likely in bed by 10pm tonight)…

and I do love a moment that signals transition.

Given how much collective energy the world pours into the change of year, it feels like a wave worth stepping onto 🌊… an invitation to consider time, space, and how we’re moving through both.

We don’t have long on this earth. Our experience here is relatively short-lived.

So before I set any new goals, I take a moment to glance in my rearview mirror, and ask:

​How have I been investing my life energy?

While I do reflect on the actions taken this year - travel, work, goals pursued - what feels most revealing to me is something deeper:

How involved have I been with life?

​Was I touched by it?

Did I witness it?

Feel it?

Allow it to move through me?

...Goosebumps listening to a beautiful voice.

...Tears watching the blossoming of a flower.

...The soft touch of grassy earth holding me.

...Laughing with my whole being.

To me, this is aliveness.

And I’ve come to learn that living with this awareness of existence can turn any moment into a celebration… not just day 365 on a calendar.

So before you step into whatever chapter is next, I invite you to take a look in your own rearview mirror and notice where aliveness has been showing up for you.

🙏🏼❤️

Dr. Aliya