I love this time of year—it is an opportunity to look back over the past year and ask, “What went well this year? What am I pleased with? What brought me happiness, what was meaningful, where did I learn and grow?” And then after acknowledging what worked, look again and ask, “What would I have liked to have gone better? Where did I avoid growth and learning, how did I make things more difficult by not leaning in with courage, where did I not embrace opportunities of connection and intimacy that presented themselves?”
By taking the time to lightly touch in and evaluate the time spent, we can discover what life is about for us—what holds meaning and purpose, and where we want to put our energies in the New Year. It is an opening between ending and beginning on the calendar that can hold significance as a time to start fresh; to make new, healthier choices for ourselves; to dig a little deeper into what we truly want our life to be about during this precious time we have been given.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, Which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”—Mary Oliver
So on this winter day, in the season of giving and receiving love, joy and hopefully finding some peace in our hearts, give yourself the gift of asking. Take a moment in time to drop in and truly discover what matters to you—not what the world tells you matters—but what matters to you. Follow the thread. Be easy about it. Don’t rush. Savor the journey. Let your heart be your guiding light.
You will most likely be surprised that hiding underneath that veneer of striving and pursuit and acquiring and owning, there lies a deeper truth. A truth, the unearthing of which, may inform your life in a new way in the New Year. A truth that will have you making different, better choices for who you are and what you hold dear. Go ahead; let it be known, first to you and then to your world. Consciously and deliberately ask, and then choose, what you will do with your one wild and precious life.
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