Letting Go of 2024

It's the end of the year, so it's time for my annual letting go post! I've written them for the past 7 years and you can see my previous posts at the links below: 

Letting Go of 2017: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html

Letting Go of 2018: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html

Letting Go of 2019 + Starting a New Decade: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html

Letting Go of 2020: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/letting-go-of-2020.html

Letting Go of 2021: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html

Letting Go of 2022: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html

Letting Go of 2023: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/12/letting-go-of-2023.html

The beginning of 2024 wasn't so great for me because I was going through an anxious time and struggling with health anxiety. I started to feel a bit better but the second half of the year went downhill for me due to other issues (and anxiety on and off). I also write a mid-year reflections post and you can see 2024's here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2024/06/mid-2024-reflections.html

If you follow numerology, the Universal Year Number for 2024 was 8, so 2025's is 9. 2024 was supposed to be an "accelerator" year which helped people push forward on their goals. (I wrote a bit about it in last year's Letting Go post.) I didn't really feel that it was that way for me though.

The themes of 2025 include global closure and completion. Then 2026 starts a fresh cycle. The world seems to have been especially up and down in recent years. Other themes are reflection and healing. You can read more about the Universal Year here: https://astrostyle.com/9-universal-year-2025-numerology-horoscope/

My Personal Year Number for 2024 was 3, which is about creativity and communication. I suppose I was creative with blogging and I communicated with others on and offline (in online communications and at Meetup events offline).

My number for 2025 is 4, which is about hard work but steady progress. It doesn't sound very inspiring to be honest! I normally use the book 21st Century Goddess for my year number, but I also use this resource occasionally (it helps you calculate your personal year): https://feliciabender.com/monthly-numerology-forecast/#calculate

Reflections

I mentioned in the Mid-2024 Reflections post that I'd mainly been going to Happy Cafe Meetup events (organised by Action for Happiness). I continued to do that during the second half of the year. I also went to my first meetup with a social anxiety friendship group earlier this month. We met up at a games place in Brighton.

I did go to the park a bit more regularly, as part of my celebrations for the sabbats/seasonal festivals that I follow. You can read more about that over on my seasonal living blog The Seasonal Life. I didn't do any belly dance classes or workshops this year, but went to a few events- a show,  a hafla (dance party) and met up a couple of times with my dance friends at a pub.

I turned 40 in March, which was a bit weird! I wrote a bit about it in my mid-year post.

For the past few years I've writen quarterly updates on The Seasonal Life (TSL). You can see my summer-autumn update and links to previous posts here (I haven't written the autumn-winter one yet) https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/10/summer-autumn-update-2024-happy.html

When it comes to this blog, I've written a similar number of posts to the past few years, 16. I did say that I wanted to be more active here but never mind! But as I said in the mid-year post, I did write more during the first half of 2024 than I did the year before. 

As well as my monthly gratitude lists and my mid-year reflections post, I wrote 3 more posts- Feeling Stuck (When Your Dreams Seem Far Away), Feeling Powerless and Feeling Your Emotions- Peace (part of the Feeling Your Emotions series, which I picked up again after a break of a couple of years. As with other years, I posted more regularly on TSL and my entertainment blog Star Sparkle Blog.

In national/world news there were elections both in the UK and America (the American one in particular was controversial), and war continues in Ukraine and the Middle East. Sending love to everyone struggling. 💓

In last year's Letting Go post, I wrote a bit about my frustration with the lack of mainstream support for mixed race people. This year I've been continuing to connect with mixed race online communities. One of them is the Mixedlings Facebook page run by Rochelle Armstrong. She's started a petition to create a mixed race heritage month. If you'd like to support it, please sign here: https://www.change.org/p/create-a-mixed-race-heritage-month

So, 2024 was an up and down year (with more downs than ups), some loss the (loss of a friend and other things) and some better parts. I hope that 2025 is better.

If you'd also like to reflect on your year, here is a video from Aileen of Lavendaire with a New Year reflection process. She takes you through a guided meditation and then provides journalling prompts for reflecting on 2024. I just did the meditation and the prompts.  Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B06_iTk5FA

It's part of Aileen's Transform Your Life series. Find the full series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP_CkGN0_w4&list=PL37ErCJmMWd32WPLnihGEexfBXgXgrCIk 

Releasing

I often feel stuck in negative patterns (especially with depression and anxiety), so those are some things I'd like to release. Also the feeling of being stuck and trapped in general. I've written about ways to release/let go of your year in previous year-end posts. You can find them in the links at the top of the post, or by clicking here, here , here and here. 

As I've said before, sometimes just writing it all down can be enough. I also like to say that you can let go of things any time of the year. It's just that in Western culture we start the new calendar year in January, so this is when people tend to feel most reflective. So, try not to put too much pressure on yourself. :) 

Update 1/1/25: Kristi from the YouTube channel KristiDoingThings says a similar thing- that any day can be your new year. For more, check out her full video below about creating a good year and not believing New Year's resolution myths (under the Resolutions/Intentions/Goals section), or click here.

 

Here are a few more resources to help you release your year:

Susanna Conway's Unravel Your Year workbook for 2025 ,plus a Find Your Word e-book (see below for more on finding a Word of the Year): https://www.susannahconway.com/unravel

End of Year Reflection Questions from Diana of The Chic Life: https://thechiclife.com/2022/01/end-of-year-reflection-questions.html

Year-end Clearing & New Year Jumpstart (Melissa Maher): https://www.melissamahercoaching.com/blog/2017/12/year-end-clearing-new-year-jumpstart 

 

Resolutions/Intentions/Goals

I've written about setting resolutions, intentions and goals (and the difference between them all) in past posts. For more on that visit the Letting Go of 2017 and Letting Go of 2018 posts.

Some people choose a Word of the Year. Visit this post from Dominee of Self-Love Rainbow for more on that: https://www.selfloverainbow.com/how-to-choose-your-word-of-the-year-100-suggestions

And she shares her 2025 Word of the Year here: https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-2025-word-of-the-year/

You can also find more links to help you choose your word in last year's Letting Go post: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/12/letting-go-of-2023.html 

I've done it some years but not since 2022, because I didn't feel that it worked that well for me. I also didn't set any intentions for this year. I'll see if I feel like setting any for 2025.

Here are a few links if you're making resolutions and/or setting intentions and goals this year:

2025 Goals: New Year Planning & Goal Setting (part of the Lavendaire Transform Your Life video series): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh3HnFbrjj4&t=73s 

If you're feeling anxious when setting New Year goals, check out this video by Tam Kaur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeGVnz6VAuc&t=20s

Or if you're planning to make a vision board (a popular Law of Attraction technique, here's a good resource from The Chic Life for making one for 2025: https://thechiclife.com/2024/12/2025-vision-board-ideas-and-examples.html

become UNSTOPPABLE in 2025: don't let these 8 new year myths hold you back! (video by KristiDoingThings):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFUVUmJnEJc

And if you'd like an alternative to resolutions, check out this video by Merlina Azul about setting aligned goals instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt1xSb51rBg

 

So that's it for now. I hope that everyone is doing well and had a good Christmas and/or any other festival you celebrated. Or if you're not doing so well, I hope that things get better for you soon. And I hope that you found this post helpful for letting go of the old year and moving into the new one. (You can always come back to it whenever you feel like letting things go or setting new goals, at any point of the year.)

How was your 2024? Happy New Year! Wishing you a happy and peaceful start to 2025. :)

Photo: Hove Park. Moonsparkle 2024.