rituals and resolutions

2013 is here. It comes bearing gifts of new beginnings, second chances, and fresh starts.  Once again the possibilities seem endless and we make proclamations of all the goals we plan to achieve before the year is over.  Success stories of amazing new career moves, admirable lifestyle changes, and incredible weight loss, all create both inspiration and pressure. 

Creatures of habit that we are, it is clear we need a little extra help and determination to see our goals through.  After the holidays, we often update our status to a seemingly sad, “Back to reality.” But shouldn’t the New Year’s resolutions we just made bring us springing and leaping into a new alternate reality?

We often feel like we are stuck in our realities and rituals.  And the older we get, the harder it seems to break free from the moulds we’ve created ourselves. Inspired by Tata's post, I tried to ease into the new year slowly but surely. And this is what I came up with for myself.

This year is the Year of Faith, and with faith follows gratitude.  I hope to start the year, not with another list of resolutions, but with just one.  I want to be grateful; grateful for last year’s trials and triumphs, and for each day this year that I am yet to be given. 

Maybe, in the process, as we practice gratitude, respect for the blessings in our lives will grow effortlessly.  Maybe we’ll be kinder to ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually and, consequently, all those other concerns on our list will fall into place on their own.

2012 had its ups and downs.  Here are few of the "ups" to be grateful for:  a 10th, 21st, 40th, & 60th birthday, a 15th wedding anniversary, simple trips to the park, family reunions, magnificent celebrations, and exciting adventures.

2012

Thank you, Tata, for our long walks & talks, and the gift of friendship tied up in a pretty grosgrain ribbon bow. ;)

http://thegrosgrainribbon.blogspot.com/

Love, 

anna

oh, happy day!

As far as New Year posts go, this one is technically a little late in the game. But I’d like to think that it’s right on time. Allow me to explain by sharing a few excerpts from my January 7, 2012 journal entry.

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I always welcome the New Year with open arms, yet somehow, I also allow myself to ease into it. There’s that bit of me that jumps right in and makes sure there’s enough space for all the hopes to start planting themselves—but another part of me that knows that it takes time, and care, and a lot of letting go in order for things to take root, grow, and flourish.

Then there’s the little matter of acclimatization. A New Year with new energy and a new outlook doesn’t really start on a completely blank slate like we usually like to think it does. More often that not, old habits and dynamics that have set in over time are so much a part of our routine—and even psyche—that it takes more than the bursting of magical fireworks against a smoky dark sky to will them away. We first need to get our sea legs steady on the new terrain.

One of my funny habits is that I don’t start writing in my new planner the moment the ball drops. For me, those seven little boxes marked with the dates January 1 to 7 stand for my turnover period. They signify the fact that I have enough time to get aligned so that I can truly step into the next 364 days with my body, mind, heart, spirit, and soul intact.

So today I open up the crisp, blank pages of my 2012 planner, sniff its sharp papery scent, and know that I am here, and ready to make a go of it. If I realize there’s still something I need to leave behind in a big way, I’ve learned that it’s best to be gentle with myself. And I smile and just think: Hey, there’s always Chinese New Year. 

***

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For 2013, I’ve decided to expand my turnover period to the whole month of January ;) 

And as I told Anna the other day, January 1^st may ring in a shiny, bright, new year. But every 24 hours we are blessed with a new day. So we’ve got 365 chances to get it right.

Happy January 25th, everyone!

Love,

Tata