What Does “A New Beginning” Mean to You?
Taking the Time to Identify Your True Priorities
It’s nearly 6pm on New Year’s Eve. Hollie, Bo, Christopher and I have just finished our last supper of 2012. Hollie has taken the children upstairs for a bath before bedtime. I’m cleaning up in the kitchen (or I will after I’ve written this blog).
The house is full of stillness. It feels like there’s an angel in the house. The stillness fells the same as the pause that happens between each exhalation and inhalation.
It’s like the whole world is taking a deep breath. We are all breathing out, and letting go. We are all breathing in, and getting ready.
At 10am, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the New Year celebrations begin. The people of Christmas Island and Samoa send out a wave across the planet. At 11am (GMT), the people of New Zealand catch the wave, and they then pass it on. After that, for every hour, on the hour, another country in another time zone, rides the wave. Celebrations happen all over the world: fireworks light up the sky, people kiss and hug, crowds cheer in the New Year. This is a time for remembrance and celebration, honouring the passing of what was, and welcoming in the new.
Now is a Time for New Beginnings
It’s a time to remember what is important, and to commit again to what is real and true. And so I like to make time in the first days of a new year to think about what a new beginning really means for me. One way I do this is to take a blank piece of paper—a perfect symbol for a new beginning—and at the top of the paper I write a sentence like “A new beginning means to me . . . ” I then complete the sentence a few times, watching for the responses that feel most meaningful and true.
Here are some highlights from my inquiry so far: A new beginning means to me . . .
- Committing to my daily spiritual practice.
- Doing my daily “A Course in Miracles” lessons.
- Saying “Yes” to God’s Will.
- Listening to my heart more.
- Being a loving husband.
- Writing more poetry.
- Being a loving father.
- Writing my parenting journal.
- Learning to juggle.
- Committing to my daily yoga.
- Being a loving son.
- Letting go of all grievances.
- Looking after my physical health.
So I invite you to reflect on what a new beginning means to you. Get out a pen and paper and write your list down—listen to your inner prompting for the responses that feel most meaningful and true to you.
I invite you to share your list in the comments below.
Tags: Happiness, New Beginnings, Resolutions