More than 1 month in, I’m curious how your 2018 going?
Maybe like me, you are asking where did January go?
Just speaking for myself, as last year faded away, more than ever I was feeling that if there was ever a time for meaningful fresh starts it’s now.
I was ready to leave behind the significant shifting and often chaotic energies of last year. On the whole, my experience of 2017 was a bit of a roller coaster ride involving some physical healing, new opportunities and unforeseen occurrences. In the last month alone, a beloved family member passed away on the very same day that her daughter found out she was pregnant with her first child. It was the cycle of life up close and personal in such a way that it was challenging for my entire family to take it all in.
So, since January became more of a transitional month coming out of a complicated year for me, I had no juice for intentional goal setting. Instead I had the desire to unhook from a climate of unrest and worrisome concerns. Going forward, I simply wanted to align with what was possible.
I didn’t want to try to impose preconceived ideas on the promise of a new year. Rather I wanted to be a listener and a receiver of inspiration for the wisest and most joyful way to proceed.
That became my inspired action step => to engage in noticing what I noticed and to practice deep listening to what wanted to emerge. I paid attention to what life was serving up with curiosity and an open heart. It was fine with me however the awareness arose.
Revelations came through dreams, meditations, visualizations, walking, taking a shower, driving the car, washing the dishes or through something I might read or hear. The only thing I had to do was commit to being an observer of my life in service to my life.
Life is whispering, talking and sometimes shouting to us on a regular basis regarding the potential that awaits us. The clues are everywhere!
This said, here are just some of the strategies I’ve been experimenting with to begin navigating 2018:
1) Since I wanted to practice present moment awareness like never before, my first strategy was to be okay with not knowing – in other words, to be comfortable with the unknown even though I do have a daily list of what needs to get done.
Actually, it’s a relief to let go of needing to figure it all out and just enjoy the journey. After all we can’t peak at the last page of the book of life. Also, in my experience – the zip code of the unknown IS the field of all possibilities.
Throughout the day (resisting going into complete auto pilot in lock step with getting done what’s on my calendar or to-do list) I’ve experimented with following micro-guidance from moment to moment listening to that inner voice about what’s truly calling to me.
Even on the busiest of days, I stop and ask myself what would actually be best for me to do next. I am sometimes surprised by the internal promptings.
Not pushing myself to make something happen, the wonder of it is that I have found I function more efficiently and productively within the infrastructure of what I might have logically planned for my day. It’s been purposeful, satisfying and freeing.
A creative colleague describes it this way: ““Just showing up to feel into what unfolds — without a plan — gives me the creative space for fluid expression.”
2) I remind myself each day with gratitude that I Begin NOW! The practice of living in the present moment in a fresh start way has highlighted once again for me how our “heavy” stories of the way things “should be” weighs us down.
If I begin my day without regrets over what hasn’t gotten done or that I should be further along that I am, the flow of actually accomplishing what’s on my daily agenda has its own wisdom and expansive creativity.
I’ve decreased the temptation to indulge in worry or entertain procrastination or feel stuck.
For the most part, with this mindset, I relax into my day and what happens is organic.
Additionally, giving myself permission to begin each day fresh creates its own lightness of being.
3) I keep it simple:
I read something recently from author and mystic Thomas Merton: “To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times.”
This really struck me.
Could it be possible that by cultivating my own inner peace with a practice of simplicity, I could possibly contribute to some measure of peace in the world?
With regards to the turbulent world in which we live, this certainly seemed worth a try.
I benefit as well. So far, by keeping things as simple and doable as possible, I also keep confusion, overwhelm and procrastination at bay. I’m much more effective in what I do. I feel enlivened and I have carved out more time to just be.
4) I make sure to clean up what causes me to go into fear.
I have quite a few time-tested modalities to do this kind of internal housekeeping and it has become second nature for me. That said, the truth is that finding ways to diminish fear is a big topic for most of us
However, I want to highlight I’ve found to be important about this practice. I discovered, after years of exploring paths of consciousness and the wisdom of various mentors, that there is liberating value in actually embracing what I consider a problem or a challenge rather than try to just fix it or work around it or even ignore something that is holding me back.
In any case, I’ve found that once I set intentions or goals, life will usually pull back the curtain to let me know what will sabotage the very thing I’m trying to achieve. The paradoxical miracle is that facing into what appears as an obstacle will actually reveal the solutions needed to accomplish what I want.
This collaborative relationship to life’s problems and challenges has practical benefits. Free from fear, I create mental and emotional spaciousness. Clarity often arises effortlessly. I feel at home in my skin with regards to making crucial decisions. I invariably experience inspirational insights for getting something accomplished with a desired outcome.
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So this is how I’ve started to show up for this new year and, bottom line, one month in, here’s what I’ve learned to trust about 2018…We’ve got this!
I trust that we can follow the wisdom alive in us to lean into and dance in fresh ways this year!
I trust that we have what we need to summon, ignite, engage with and activate what’s possible for us this coming year! Life is on our side.
I trust what is changing, growing, and becoming in me.
I trust what is changing, growing and becoming in those I have the privilege of working with (clients and colleagues).
I trust what is changing, growing and becoming within my friends and my family connections and even those unknown souls who show up in my life.
This thing called “life” becomes the adventure that can be met with curiosity and wonder.
I trust what it is unfolding in any moment. I can surrender to what is with a sense of ease.
All of this is summed up in a quote from a friend of Oprah’s at a recent celebration of her birthday:
Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay said of Oprah:
“She lives her life like she’s holding hands w/ a friend. Trusting it. Listening to it. Loving it through storms + sunshine. May we treat our lives like a friend. Blow out the candles on each day with this much grace + gusto.”
In my own experience, committed to what’s possible, I have already discovered what a potent gift it is to bring a welcoming and peaceful heart to this world.
