New Year Continuations
Do you love a fresh start?
Fresh-start energy can be so invigorating - the lightness, the excitement, the wide-eyed curiosity and energy of purpose. When a fresh start comes from a place of self-awareness, confidence, and self-trust, it feels so full of potential, right?
The thing is, my fresh start energy rarely comes on cue with calendar events like New Years Day. Does yours?
With my eye on New Years Day, my birthday, the spring equinox, or new moons, I give myself extra time and space to clear out as these dates approach. I get still, and try to empty out the excess junk that I’ve been toting around unacknowledged.
I try to feel into any shifts or movements that feel ready to happen, too. In the quiet, I listen deeply to get a sense of new seeds/ideas/activities/purposes might be asking for space to be planted and tended.
Unique Timelines
Calendar events can be beautiful reminders to pause, reflect, release, and regroup. When we notice that calendar events feel like pressure, however, when judgement or a sense of failure creeps in with them, it’s a good sign that we need to pause.
In that lovely pause, we bring ourselves back to ourselves. We breathe deeply and let the mind empty out a bit. We let our mind connect with our hearts, with our bodies, with our joy of being alive, and with the clarity and self trust that we have worked so hard to nurture. We come back to the knowing that we are free to move at a pace that feels right to us, and free to ignore the pressures to conform our paths to calendar dates.
During my meditations over the last weeks of 2023, it became clear to me that some of the insights from late in the year had just begun to bear fruit. Isn’t it true that our new patterns need nourishment to fully bloom? If you’re a gardener, you’ll know that some seeds germinate quickly, and some take much more time. Some need a burning fire to regenerate, some need a month straight of rain, and some need more sun, less water. Everything has its own unique conditions to grow and thrive, including ourselves.
This may be the first time that I’m intentionally bringing something into a new year from the one before. I couldn’t just pretend that realizing the deeper insight was as far as I needed to go. New understandings in our hearts and minds take some effort to come alive in the world, yes?
So here I am, creating a New Year’s Continuation rather than an Intention or Resolution. It feels right.
Continue? But For How Long?
Do you treat your New Year’s Intentions as projects that must be sustained through the whole year? I have in the past, but bit by bit, I’m unlearning and letting go of unhelpful patterns rooted in rules, control, and performance (among others), especially when those patterns feed feelings of failure, unworthiness, or self-doubt.
We put things aside for many reasons, directly or indirectly related to the task at hand. Acknowledging that there may be positive or negative emotions attached to revisiting some unfinished business is one part of understanding, and therefore trusting, our own judgement. Please give yourself some quiet time to reflect on whether a New Year Continuation is right for you this year.
In the quiet, you could ask yourself:
Do I feel positive emotions about picking up something that I had set aside?
Do I feel resourced and ready to go deeper if needed?
Can I continue the project/journey without expectation of outcome?
If you answered yes to these questions, then continuing a journey rather than starting something new might be right for you as a New Year Continuation.
A few more considerations, that may enliven your continuation journey:
Experience over outcomes - welcome the messy flow of personal transformation and let go of any “goals”
Self-compassion is key - heed the signs to rest when your body, speech, thought patterns, or “energy tank” indicate that it’s time to rest
Support is a precious resource - share your aspirations and intentions with those who care about you and ask them to celebrate any positive shifts and to practice compassion with all the many challenges that are sure to arise
As I recognize the beauty of my 2024 New Year Continuations, I’m especially thankful for the teachers and teachings that have guided me in cultivating the honesty, self compassion, and clarity that allows me to trust my own pace. If you plan to retreat with me this year, I would be delighted to make time for reflection and sharing about our journeys. Until then, be well.
