Another New Year…

Welcome to 2022! The years keep on ticking by, don’t they?

After the crazy start to this decade I have a totally different relationship to the new year. The feeling of new energy and high expectations of great change has been partially replaced by feelings of resilience and perseverance.

What will this year have in store for me and how can I support myself to flow with it all? Perhaps it’s that I’ve come to realize I don’t create the waves on the ocean, but I certainly have the power to become a better surfer.  

How about we NOT make resolutions yet?

In the twenty minutes of IG scrolling I allot myself a day (app restrictions on iPhone work wonders!), I’ve come across a number of inspirational people wondering why we tend to set new goals during the dead of winter.

It seems all the natural world is hunkering down and preserving energy, going below ground to live life, not burst forth in bloom. Meanwhile, we humans, intent on making waves, are telling each other to plant seeds for the next twelve months with our resolutions and goals.

Why not wait until springtime to cultivate newness? Why not go with the flow of the shorter days of winter, cozy up and care for ourselves tenderly in this natural time of dormancy before the unfolding in spring?  

Ok, but climate change…

As a brief aside, I realize it’s been in the 80s lately in Texas and not terribly wintertimey at all. The waves we’ve made since the industrial revolution are regenerative and lasting. Typical cycles appear off balance. Key word: appear. Nature always cycles towards homeostasis. It’s the rhythm, amplitude, and frequency of those waves that’s greatly different than before. 

You’ve got your own cycles!

Speaking of nature’s cycles, the same is true of your body, you know? Your own personal Earth stuff. You and I have cycles, too. Sleep and awake, creative and dull, regenerative and destructive on a cellular level and beyond.

Maybe there’s a rhythm to your cycles you’ve come to know and embrace, or maybe like the weather your cycles seem all over the place. 

Just trust that deep inside you’re animated by the same cycles as the universe and that that little spark can be felt and known if you give it time and regular attention. Respect yourself when you’ve cycled into the part of the wave you like least. It’s easier when we’re accepting and kind. Easier in a world of tough is helpful.  

What to do to mark 2022?

A week ago a wise friend asked me what my mantra was going to be for 2022. She told me her 2021 mantra got her through the year. After she asked, she said I didn’t have to come up with anything right away.

So I thought about it over the next couple days. I made bullet points for mantra options and crossed off the ones that didn’t feel right. For example, “Just keep going” felt too gloomy to me, like “slog your way through, pal.” I didn’t want to repeat that every day.

Eventually I settled on this one: There is peace in the present moment.  

Maybe in spring I’ll set some actionable goals for the year ahead. For now, there is peace in the present moment.