I love this time of year. You know, the check in. The proverbial end of year inventory.
I start asking myself the juicy questions.
What have I accomplished this year?
What sacred lessons have I learned?
What layers have I shed?
How have I evolved?
What wisdom am I bringing into the new year?
What experiences forced growth?
Have I found more freedom? Abundance? Awareness?
Whatever the responses may be to these questions, no matter the insight gained. I know one thing for sure that I have gathered along the way – one practice that will withstand - I will above all practice deeper acceptance.
In order to understand this practice of acceptance, one must first comprehend non-acceptance.
It’s like this: I’d avoid things like boredom, loneliness and sadness. Instead of experiencing these feelings directly, I’d seek refuge in rationalizing and re-framing my experience – or often I’d just go get busy with something. Consequently, I think I felt afraid of ever letting my life go quiet enough for me to slow down and feel it all.
Well my life did slow down. I had to confront these less than extraordinary emotions. Heck, I’m still confronting them. I thought it would be like a terrifying roller coaster ride. However, it’s turned out to be more like the sweetest fruit…the more layers you peel away the better and more delicious each layer is until you get to that seed, the pit…strong and full of life force waiting to be planted again to create more and more life.
That’s what I’ve discovered that deeper acceptance does: softens the sharp edges, creates more life, more abundance, more awareness. It has actually been the best fuel for transformation - this letting myself feel what I need to feel, so I can decide what I want to do about it. It’s simply the acceptance of experiencing ourselves and life as it is.
So whatever your resolution or intention is for 2019, may your New Year’s celebrations be rich with layers and ripe with intention and joy.
Looking for a New Year’s ritual that’s less champagne, more intention? Look no further:
