The New Year holds excitement for many reasons. It’s a symbol of hope for one basic reason: We survived the previous year, and the upcoming year must be better than the last one, a new beginning. Then we dance and party, albeit a little more privately this year. Oh, and we make a resolution that usually amounts to some form of behavior modification. We set “deep intentions” and then sit back and…watch it all fall apart. It’s become such a pattern that we have come to expect to not really work.
REMEMBER (EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO) HOW GOOD 2020 WAS SUPPOSED TO BE?
Now, I’m sure it’s different for you, but most get caught in time loops where we avoid the inner work and move from one thing to the next expecting the new form of it to be better than the last. Whether it’s a new relationship, new job, new clothes, new house, new location, or new year, we fall into the trap and renew the outer (which includes the body) without doing the yoga of renewing the inner. Gandhi said it best, we can’t look for the change we want to see in our bodies or the world. We must “be the change.”
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THIS YEAR DIFFERENT AND “BREAK OUT” OF THE TIME LOOP. THINK GROUNDHOG DAY (WITH BILL MURRAY)
- Knowing that adversity is the catalyst for a better way, look back on 2020 and see how it worked perfectly to bring you to this present moment where you are ready. For 2021 to be better, we must see how well 2020 worked. We don’t get to go back. Life is not a board game where you get to start over. Or do you?
There is a way to start over, but the idea is that you start over and over, and over again. Not in form, but in heart and mind. The stars are aligned. It’s time. Here’s how… - It comes with many names, that you’ve heard before. Beginners mind. The power of now. Presence. They are all phrases or ideas that bring a new beginning! Problem is, we write them off because they’re too woo-woo and it so much easier to go back to sleep and “live the dream.” But now you’re ready! So how do we tap into the newness that only comes with nowness? First, we catch ourselves expecting, if not demanding change to occur in our favor. Is it not insane to be watching a movie that has a pre-written script and wanting it to change and end the way you want it to? Life is no different but we believe that it is. Instead of accepting what is, we manipulate it (and others) to fit our needs and desires according to a predetermined set of values. And 7 billion others are doing the same thing! It’s organized chaos at best.
But what if just one, decides to accept it as it is? What if just one decides to try something different, and make it all the same? What if just one decides to stop criticizing, blaming, defending and attacking? What if just one decides to withdraw their projections and accept what is? What if just one decides to heal from the past and gently let it slip away? What if just one decides against the fear of the future and lets love show them the way?
