THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR 2016

Every year end offers the perfect down time to reflect on the past year (successes, insights, gratitude list) and what we want to create in the new year (more of, less of, legacy). To help streamline the process and get the most out of your reflection time, we made a short pdf  for you - of what we feel are the 11 Most Important Questions to Ask Yourself. Print & fill out the answers, or pick a question & chat with friends or family about what's most important to you. This year, a few of us on the team decided to share an answer to one of our questions publicly. I chose #2: What are your most important learnings from this year?

Having an amazing team is incredible.This year I spent hours, weeks and months at the coffeeshop - away from the office, writing - and my team kept the hustle going and we grew a lot without me really being present. Holy wow. I’m so grateful for everyone on the LW team this year - for their care, love, dedication and devotion to benefitting others. Writing a book is a crazy process.It’s a direct reflection of how we do anything and everything, except the stakes are higher, because it's a huge body of work that requires tremendous dedication, time, energy and creativity - and there’s a deadline. And other people might read it. I spent the first few months (and about half the book) researching science, quantum physics and other such arguments to back up the energetics behind flower essences. Then I realized it was going to be a very boring book and trashed it. I started over with a writing coach who helped me see that just telling my story and what I know was enough. Even then there were bumps and hoops. I learned that it takes tremendous facing of fears you don’t even know exist inside you. In the end, you wonder if anyone will read the thing you spent so many months on. I decided if one person reads it and gets something from it, I will be happy. Hopefully many more will read it … Stay tuned; it comes out fall of 2016! I'm so excited. Life is so damn short.I’ve always felt a sense of urgency about life, but as I get older I feel it more and more. My cheeks are sagging a bit more from gravity, my hips are a little more jelly rolly and I see more signs of age. I have a lot of friends that are older than me and I see them aging too. I look at friends on social media and see how their lives have evolved and changed. And life just seems to fly by. It’s so short which infuses me with evermore motivation to make the most of it - to say ‘no’ to what doesn't feel right, to speak up when things don’t seem right, to pay more attention, to listen more closely and observe myself more carefully. You can’t make people happy. They have to make themselves happy.You can only revel in loving them unconditionally. I love that there are people who have stayed in my life, day after day - or even if I only see them once each year, or less - I see their evolution. I see their hang ups and obstacles. I see their suffering and pain. I see their joys, breakthroughs and exhilaration. I rejoice in their efforts, their positive impact and personal growth. I am forever convinced, again and again, that the best way to change the world is to focus on oneself and 'be the change', while simultaneously loving your loved ones totally and unconditionally without wishing for them to change. Telling the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable - is liberating and game-changing. Most times we just keep quiet. We’re afraid to lose people we love, or we’re afraid to hurt someones’ feelings. When keeping quiet prevents positive change and evolution, it holds everyone back. A way to make it easier to tell the truth is by making sure that unconditional love is at the core of your motivation for truth telling. If I need to have a difficult conversation, I focus on loving myself and the other person unconditionally. That way the truth evolves us and grows us. If I lose the the relationship, if I don’t see them for years, or the nature of our relationship changes, it will be based on clarity, truth, love and positive growth. Instead of moving toward comfort and hiding, I’m opting for more truth telling, more wake up calls, more reality checks, more crystal clarity, more sharp pains followed by the relief of someone calling it like it is. Truth is a relief, even when it’s uncomfortable. The real truth is always in the actions, not the words.There is a common practice, at least in the U.S., of the belief that simply by saying things it makes them true.For example, during the last year I worked with contractors to rebuild a big portion of our house. I realized that when they say they care about us and our house, they actually do believe they care, only because they’ve SAID they care. All of their actions say otherwise. My teacher has said for the last 15 years that I’ve known him, “Talk is cheap.” I understood the concept, but now I see how common it is for people in our culture to believe that simply by saying something it becomes truth, vs. showing it with actions. The habit runs deep. We can’t always take what people say at face value. We are not all the same. We don’t think the same. We don’t have the same values. Some people strive to always do their best, others get distracted, others get lazy, yet others think to themselves “It’s good enough." I cannot always expect other people to think the way that I do. I need to look and listen and observe even more acutely - in every interaction - because the truth is always in the actions, not the words. The time of inclusion of more feminine qualities into leadership and business is here: collaboration, unilateral leadership style, empowerment, networks, dialogue … (instead of top-down,  competitive, hierarchical). At the Global Wellness Summit last week in Mexico City, I was surprised and proud to see men very much a part of the movement as well, allowing themselves to be vulnerable, authentic, transparent, supportive and collaborative. Our culture has a long way to go, but it’s happening. In LOTUSWEI this year, we engaged in several collaborative projects with L’Apothecary Spa, CAP Beauty and Modern Minerals and found it to be exponentially gratifying and beneficial.

Personally, this past year has been full of positive change + growth. It is a total trip to thoughtfully look back and remember where I was in January and mindfully touch on all of the events and transitions that happened throughout the year to put me where I am today. Now there are a lot of things I am proud of, but I will choose two for the sake of time.

I graduated from ASU last December and I had set a goal for myself that I would find a job within one year that 1) was in the creative field and 2) makes me happy. Check and check. Working with Katie has taught me so much about myself, life, intention, business, and of course, the magic of flowers. It is so liberating to be in an environment where your ideas are worthy, the integrity is high and the end goal is making a positive impact on everyone we touch.

Some might call this next one a check off my bucket list, but I consider it one brave success; I went SKYDIVING. My sister and I conquered the leap into free fall in October and still can’t help but smile ear to ear whenever it is brought up. Total freedom, exhilarating adrenaline, pure ecstasy.