As the air chills and the days shorten, I find myself naturally slowing down and taking time to reflect on the year as it winds itself down. And what a year it has been. 2020 has been so full of the unexpected, and has offered challenges, opportunities, blessings and blows to the point where it is hard to believe that so much could happen within the span of a year.
One of the first reflections I have had is how tremendously grateful I am to have a regular meditation practice. Somehow that daily mindfulness routine allows me to take each challenge in stride with a reminder to breathe. I feel that my years of practice have made me a better partner to my husband, mother to my children and tender to my garden and planner to my clients. I cannot say I have a perfect meditation every day, but it does seem that the quiet moments have lengthened the longer I have been at it.
Gardening, parenting and financial planning each require a great deal of patience. This past year brought that lesson home to me on more than one occasion. It can take a long time for a seed to sprout or for a tree to offer fruit. Gardening requires the gardener to return to provide care and nourishment and to adjust to obstacles that threaten to thwart proper growth of the tender plants. I consider my work as a financial planner to be similar. There is no “set it and forget it” option when you are dealing with unique, dynamic and ever changing lives. I strive to patiently attune myself to what each client considers the most important and to help build a plan that will grow and thrive.
Despite some truly devastating global struggles, I am heartened by signs of progress. I am awed by the incredible courage I have witnessed all around me. Health care workers and grocery clerks, teachers and students, neighbors and first responders - people in my community and around the world have stepped up in frightening times to support and care for one another. I have made progress in growing more of my own vegetables, keeping my family healthy and in helping my clients to gain confidence that they can weather this financial storm and to understand that this is most likely not the last one they will be required to endure.
Taking time to reflect on the year helps me to see through the haze of current events and crises of the moment. What I see are the tools I have developed to help me face those challenges. My hope each day is that I can share the benefits of my daily practice and the patience I have tried to cultivate in service of true progress in our world.
Jennipher Lommen is a Certified Financial Planner TM and Enrolled Agent who offers comprehensive financial planning advice to clients in Santa Cruz, CA and beyond.
