Monthly Archives: December 2014

New Day Resolutions for 2015 and Beyond

P3170179Well, here we are again. Time for ringing out the old, and ringing in the new. I hear many talking about 2014 and sounding eager to push it to the curb so that the ‘new’ can be welcomed, that clean slate feeling. You know the one. We hand off the torch, once again, and look to the future for the change we feel is needed so desperately in our lives and in the world today.

Setting new intentions for this next revolution around the sun without making necessary internal changes allows for the opportunity to convince ourselves that we’re actually leaving those old patterns and habits behind. We’re starting over. We’re getting things settled and making way for those new plans, projects, relationships, and actions we feel are missing from our lives. We’re going to do things in a different way next year. Hmmm. Really??

Maybe we are fooling ourselves. Fooling ourselves into believing that our past can be ignored so easily and effortlessly, like stepping through a portal and immediately seeing the fresh beginning that hasn’t been available before.

Because, the thing is, it’s always available. It’s available in every moment of our lives. Each new instant provides the opportunity to shift an attitude, remove a judgment, and begin to see the ways our old habits are holding us back and keeping us in the past. Every second holds a spark of potentiality for a new beginning. A beginning that leads us out of the place of despair, unworthiness, doubt, or fear and into a place of harmony, peace, contentment, community, and hope.

On this day, I propose something fresh, something truly life-changing that can help bring about the tranquility we seek. Instead of keeping the true change ‘out there, somewhere in the future’, let’s make a pledge this year to set New Day Resolutions. With the dawning of every day we have a chance to forgive, love, have gratitude, walk softly on the earth, be gentle with ourselves and others, live with integrity and impeccability, tell the truth, and be of service.

Every day we have the opportunity to hold ourselves to a higher standard, the same higher standard we are so quick to ask others to lift themselves to. Every day we have the option of using kind, well-chosen words, instead of spewing belittling, condescending, abusive remarks at or about the ‘other’. Every day we are given the option of responding with a loving heart, or reacting with the same violence we say we oppose.

Every day provides an opportunity to heal our own inner wounds that harbor anger, fear, abuse, violence, judgment, separation, and self-degradation. Every day we stand at a crossroads and make a choice. We either remain in that place that feels so familiar and comfortable, or we step outside our safety zone and learn something new about ourselves and our latent potential.

Will your choice be to continue to perpetuate your old patterns that no longer serve? Or will it be to embrace that past that simply holds your teachings, and make the necessary adjustments within your own heart that allow you to step into that Circle of ‘the ones we have been waiting for’?

It’s up to us.

“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years.” ~ Henry Moore

 

 

Winter Prayer

WinterMay we utilize the serenity of this blessed winter season to journey deep within our own hearts.

May we search our souls for the perfected reflection of our true being.

May we release our differences into the chill of the evening air, watching the bias, prejudice and fear dissolve as effortlessly as breath.

May we each lay down our insecurities, our selfishness and our hostility.

May we discover a way to look into the eyes of those we admire least and recognize a cowering glimpse of ourselves hiding there.

May we lay down our weapons, whether they be guns or the violent words of anger and abuse.

May we feed the starving and frightened children of the world, changing their reality and future from despair into hope.

May women everywhere know safety, respect, equality and walk confidently without fear.

May the Elders be kept warm, well-fed and nurtured as we honor the vital wisdom they carry.

May the peace we long for within our own hearts be the beacon we follow into the darkness of chaos and confusion.

May that light guide us back to ourselves where the peace we seek waits patiently to be revealed.

Follow the source of the light and you’ll find that it comes from within you.

May peace, love, joy, perfect health and prosperity be your gifts.

May 2015 be the year that humanity emerges from our complacent slumber and stand united with all of Creation in the Sacred Wheel of Life.

Happy, blessed Winter Solstice!