Happy New Year

 Before I begin, I want to clarify that this is not a post I forgot to publish in January.  Last week we passed the Spring Equinox and if you look in the skies tonight you will see the first full moon of a new astrological cycle -- the new year is now truly upon us. 

As I prepare to enter this new cycle of energy and growth, I have been reflecting on the past year and all that took place.  For me, the hardest part of this exercise is to sit in the seat of the witness instead of the judge and to look back through a lens of kindness and love for the person I was and the actions I did or did not take.  We are in a constant state of change and flux from day to day never mind year to year, and keeping that in mind helps to welcome some grace to the exercise. 

One practice I have enjoyed is taking some quiet time to think back over the past year, wandering through the days and months that have passed.  As I look back I pay attention to the thoughts and feelings that come up for me, and try to land on a word or phrase that best describes what has surfaced.  With these in mind, I then start to think about moving forward into the new year, and what I would like to either carry forward or leave behind.  

I like to think of this as an intention-setting versus a goal-setting exercise.  All too often we get caught up in setting goals for ourselves, and closing ourselves off to a myriad of potential opportunities and possibilities because of our laser focus on achieving said outcomes.  Instead of goals being the ultimate target, what would happen if we allowed goals to simply be guideposts or milestones on the journey towards our greater intentions?  What if we focused more on how we would like to feel or show up in the world, versus a personal achievement being the thing that defines us?  

It takes a leap of faith to look beyond measurable goals and to work on a sense of self or way of being as our north star.  I think that shift in outlook is a vital ingredient in feeling more fulfilled and in alignment with who we truly are, and might reduce some of the anxiety and stress caused by the narrow goal-oriented focus that we often tend towards. 

So as we enter this new year of possibilities and new beginnings, can we take a moment to suspend disbelief and dream big?  Can we give ourselves the gift of not holding back on acknowledging what it is that we truly wish for the year ahead?  It can feel scary to allow the desires that are burning deep inside to be brought forward into consciousness, and that is okay.  Feeling afraid and vulnerable is natural as we permit our imagination to venture into the unknown.  We do not need to have all of the answers and the full picture laid out in front of us, and we never will.  So long as we continue to grow and evolve, so too will our future destination.




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