We’re only a little over a week into 2012 and some people are raving and others are bemoaning the year. I think that’s a little premature. While I’m all for seasonal rituals, for me there’s nothing magical about the first day of the Roman calendar. In Asia the new year gets underway in another month. According to the Celtic tradition we rebooted a few months ago.
But turning the page on the calendar, from December to January, does give us a collective opportunity to regroup and reset our patterns as individuals. And hopefully, this fresh start can help us to establish or reclaim practices and habits that serve our life’s purpose more fully than ever. Like we talked about last week, setting an intention for the year (I pick one word) is a practice that can open up so much freedom and joy.
But it’s not magic.
So, sure, some of us become disappointed. Even after a week. And those people who make resolutions—which tend to be more about “shoulds” than claiming the heart’s desire— rarely make it even a few weeks into the new year with those new habits intact.
I felt buoyant about claiming my one-word intention this year. But, has it been all smooth sailing in the first week and a half of the year? No, most definitely not. Some of the practices I’d already claimed as the calendar year was about to turn to ’12 have been disrupted by illness, household equipment breakdowns and work and family responsibilities.
I’ve had to be oh-so-gentle and let go of self-judgment. I’m being flexible, and, though that is not my word for the year, it certainly serves my intention. Actually, it is an alternative meaning of the word I chose. It’s amazing how these Higher Self decisions unfold! That’s one of the things I love about the practice of intention: it’s full of surprises. That is where the mystery and the magic come in.
With my word in my back pocket I get all year to devote myself to the practices that serve that intention. Up, down and all around—which is a given in life. Staying the course and letting my deepest knowing about why I’m here and what I desire to create guide me is what really matters.
And I need to trust that, over time, what I can’t see now will be revealed. I guess it all is a bit magical.
How about you? Are there surprises in how your intentions are unfolding? Share your questions and aha’s in the comments below. And, if you’d like a free 30-minute phone Sankalpa Session contact me.
