For most people, the New Year comes with New Year’s resolutions. And as much as people bash them, I love them. I love how they inspire us to see our lives in a new light. I love how on that first day of January everything seems possible. That most resolutions croak before the end of January has more to do with the direction of our focus than anything else. The thing most of us are focused upon while creating a New Year’s resolution is the thing we don’t want. Whether we want to lose weight, quit smoking, or get out of debt, our attention remains focused on weight, smoking and debt. And where our attention goes, our energy flows. We need to understand that a New Year’s resolution is not about fixing what is broken, because nothing is. We are whole and perfect. We are not our weight, nor amount of cigarettes we smoke, nor the debt on our balance sheet. These are creations of the past. They do not determine who we are, or what our lives will look like in the future, however near or far. Somehow the start of the New Year reminds us of what we know deep down, that every moment we are offered the opportunity to recreate our life, to be more of ourselves.
The word ‘resolution’ tricks us into believing that we need to be resolute, that we have to plot a course of action and resolve the problem, which is not true because there is no problem to begin with, only a lack of appreciation. The thing about resolutions is that the way to fulfill them seems completely backward. If you want to lose weight, you have to take your focus off your weight. Instead, focus on being healthy, inside and out, body and mind. If you want to lose weight, you need to lose the guilt and shame first, because they are adding to your weight. Stop feeling shame over your body, over your weight, and stop feeling guilty about eating. Instead appreciate your body for all it does for you. Appreciate your legs for carrying you around, your heart for pumping blood through your veins, your lungs for extracting oxygen. Appreciate your eyes for being able to see beauty, your ears for providing the sensation of sound, your mouth for being able to taste all those amazing flavors. Appreciate the food that is available to nourish you, love the food that you prepare, love the colors, the textures and most of all, enjoy while you eat, everything that you eat. Appreciate. Appreciate. Appreciate.
My New Year’s intention simply is to appreciate more, to love more, and to find more reasons to feel great. I say New Year’s Intention, because contrary to resolutions, intentions leave room for the Universe to step in and open doors that weren’t there before. Because when we ask, it is given, no exception. When we ask, the Universe will conspire to make it happen, no matter what we asked for. All we need to do to allow God’s Grace to flow into our lives is to focus on that which we truly want (health, financial freedom, a loving relationship, a healthy environment, world peace), and find ways to appreciate everything we experience, no exception.
I am wishing you a truly remarkable 2014, may it be your best year so far. Happy New Year!
image by Nimalan Tharmalingam
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