Happy New Year!
Well, I had hoped to write down a few thoughts before the end of the year but somewhere in the thrill and activities of the holidays, I forgot to unwind and it seemed to have finally caught up with me. A much needed new year’s reset was in order. I hope you all had the chance to do the same.
Although the celebration has passed, I hope you don’t mind this delayed post. The new year is always a wonderful prompt for mindfulness so I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. As I’ve gotten older, the excitement of the actual New Year’s evening has dimmed but the buzz of a wide open horizon has increased. There’s something about a collective refresh - the chance to start again, the promise of a blank slate and the opportunity to be better that is so encouraging and positive. I love that the New Year simultaneously sets us in the present, pushes us to look to the future and allows us to reflect with gratitude on the past (if I sound very New Age, sorry… told you I loved New Year’s!)
This year has been filled with incredible opportunities, amazing friendship and unforgettable memories. Here at Mumbles and Bumbles, we were invited to some of our first blogger events: a Holiday Preview evening with Bayview Village Mall and The Kit, as well as a dance class celebrating Sport Chek’s new athleisure line with celebrity choreographer Tanisha Scott. We’ve had the chance to travel the world - from London to New York, Miami Beach to Edinburgh, and visit the offices of some of the world’s coolest companies - Facebook, Google, Refinery29, to name a few. We’ve filmed with Animal Planet while practicing goat yoga (who knew it was a thing!), and listened to accomplished men such as Romeo Dallaire and George Clooney speak about their respective experiences and aspirations for a more peaceful world.
On the global stage, we’ve seen waves of change rippling across every industry, not all positive. National marches took place across North America to protest a man elected President of the United States despite a laundry list of fouls and faults to his name. Britain voted to leave the EU in the staggering Brexit vote. A Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was signed by 122 UN member states. Hurricanes, floods, fires and earthquakes stretched humanitarian efforts to the limits. The #MeToo response, prompted by the Weinstein scandal, spoke boldly to a societal culture of misogyny and sexual abuse.
Watching the news is dark and soul-crushing on the best of days. For this reason, it’s been a goal at M&B to carve out a tiny space in this world that is bright and full of inspiration. A place that is open and accepting of all, a space for positivity and a platform driven by excitement for the uniquely human capacity of creation. We know there is a long way to go, and there is always room to improve - but it has lifted our hearts to know that this has been a space where readers from over 40 countries come to read, people of every background and ethnicity, hopefully of many ages and genders, from Russia to Brazil, Kazakhstan to South Africa. All we can hope for in 2018 is that our words about things that inspire us, excite us and disarm us continue to be something worth reading for our gloriously global community of readers.
