Last night, before my daughter headed out to enjoy New Year's with her other half, I ran into our family room with baby blue paper and pens from my purse. Everyone looked at me with a big "uh oh" face.
Before I handed out the pens and paper, I asked everyone to recount their top five (more or less) happy moments from 2014. My daughter started tentatively. Soon, she was on a roll, beaming with delight at the accomplishments, travels and memories from the year. We continued around the room, each of us sharing what we were proud of and what made the year special for us.
For me, it was a big year. I'm not even going to beat around the bush. The year of the Chinese Horse was good to me. After an extremely challenging year of the Snake, I can honestly say I deserved this kind of year. After a good whipping, you kind of need to be picked up again.
In 2014, I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training. I received my certification in Thai Folk Medicine. I loved our trips to Disney World and Montreal. And of course, my biggie, my book was published. What I also shared was that I had such a great year with my husband and daughter and my marriage was amazing this year.
After we patted ourselves on our backs, I thrust the blue paper and pens into everyone's hands.
"Is this what you were going to tell me," my daughter asked in regards to New Year's resolutions.
"No. But, I would like for all of us to write goals or accomplishments we would like to have this year."
Anyone that knows me knows I abhor resolutions. I frankly am not the biggest fan of New Year's either. For me, it was always another day in the cycle of life. January 1st meant I survived several cold months and very soon, by end of February, I can jump up and down with glee as the crocus' make their way out of the ground.
I never looked at New Year's as a mark where life resets itself. It's just another day. I struggled why people put such emphasis on one day a year that seemingly wiped the slate clean. We can never wipe our slates clean. It's what makes us who we are. We don't need one day a year where we suddenly can make change. We can always make changes any day of our lives.
I do, however, believe in goals. Goals to me are the closest my chaotic mind can get to organization. Goals lead to results. Perhaps, the results aren't what my mind had imagined, but they push me towards creating or removing things in my life. So, I make goals each year, throughout the year.
Recently, I had done research for a blog I was writing for work. This is what I shared with my daughter. I found that while most people don't succeed in their resolutions, those who don't make resolutions don't reach their goals as easily. I suppose it might stem from having that vision in your mind that you clearly want to manifest. I buy into the whole power of attraction thing. You know when people say "I have to see it to believe it" thing? I believe that you have to visualize it, feel it in your bones, to help make it come to fruition. So, thus, goals for me are one way of doing so.
Usually, I make a mental catalogue of things I would love to do. I think about them, meditate upon them, and use my intuition to see whether or not they are part of my path at the moment. This year, however, we were writing them down. And then? We fed them to the fire.
Fire is a tool I have used for manifesting things. It is amazing to watch your idea, your desire, your intention burn up, and leaving it up to fate to create the opportunity. There's something magical about just letting it go. It's like the Buddha Board I have at my studio. You paint with water and a paint brush and soon thereafter, your painting is gone. You learn to let go.
My husband had a fire going for us in our chimney. After we all carefully wrote down around five goals, we took turns adding them to the fire. I waited until the end, popped my folded paper in and watched it sit there on the right hand side, not catching fire. Everyone had tossed theirs in the center left. I, of course, do everything my own way and in my own time. Burning up my intentions was apparently no different.
My husband kindly blew into the chimney trying to get the paper to ignite. I, however, moved in and using the poker nudged my paper over. It finally burned bright, releasing my goals into the spirit of fire.
Maybe, New Year's is more than just a day where I get to hang out in my PJ's. Perhaps, it's like the fire. You can burn up what you don't need anymore, offer up what you do, and cross your fingers for something new to begin.
