I really love the start of a new year. It's not the big parties, time off from school or work, or the resolutions. To me, new year has always brought the promise of new beginnings with it. Ever since I was a little girl, I superstitiously thought that whatever you were doing at the start of a new year would signify what the rest of your year would look like. And in thinking such, as the countdown begins & the following minutes afterward, I to this day, like to imagine all the goodness I want to see for myself in the coming 365 days. I mean great if, at the stroke of midnight, you could be surrounded by all those you love, family, friends & lovers, but how many of us can actually accomplish having all these fantastic people in one place, at one time, on one night? Or if you could actually, physically be doing something incredible, like skydiving, skiing the Swiss Alps, swimming with dolphins or whatever (who would do this at midnight, I don't know, but I'm sure there are those thrill seekers out there). But what I find the most pertinent is to envision all the intentions you have for yourself in the new year. It's the recognition that you want to spend more time with those fantastic friends, family & lovers. It's the determination that this will indeed be the year you will go skydiving, ski the Swiss Alps &/or swim with dolphins. It's the humble appreciation for what was & the excited anticipation for what will be. Year after year, I literally have butterflies in my stomach as the clock strikes midnight. It's like pulling away a veil; a veil that is revealing a shiny, new beautiful gift. A gift of new beginnings & new opportunities, new experiences & new wonders. There's just so much hope surrounding a new year. All those disappointments, heart breaks & failures? Well hell! That was last year!! This year holds all sorts of new promise. And therefore, it's important to make space for all the new new that will be entering your life. Very little will be able to come in, if nothing comes out.
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| New year, new sparks. |
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| New day |
This year my theme for New Year's was that I was going to start living more of my truth. Not that I was a dishonest person to begin with, in fact I told a couple friends this theme of mine & their replies were like "Annie?! Telling you more of the truth?! Uh oh, look out!" which I found both endearing & funny, because they were friends I'd had heart to hearts with & they couldn't possibly imagine me being more "real." What I mean by living "my truth" was that I was going to evaluate what works for me & what doesn't more. To me, living your truth means opening up your life to people, places & opportunities that make life happier & richer; those people that make you feel thankful to know them, those places that make you more aware & knowledgable & those opportunities that propel you to new experiences. All these prospects make life joyful & prosperous, they make you a better person. And obviously this means you have to curtail any involvement with anything that doesn't do this. Those things (& people) that suck the joy right out of you, well there's just no space for them in the new year. This also meant that I was going to allow myself to be more vulnerable. Be more honest with myself about why I would have made decisions that did not speak to "my truth." And this, this self honesty, could potentially be the most important piece to it all. I've come to the startling realization that every single time I've gone against "my truth," every single time, the shittiest situations have preceded it. This has expressed itself in situations like taking a job I knew would be wrong for me, but deciding to take it anyway because of the excellent pay, later realizing no amount of money is worth being in such a horrible environment or going against my gut & dating people I shouldn't, only later realizing they're not even people I'd want to associate with. Sounds simple, but these are all lessons I had to learn through experience over the years to bring me to where I am in the present. Your intuition is a strong force. We may not give it much credit, & unfortunately sometimes value, because it can seem like such a small voice; a voice that can be drowned out by all the outside noise. But your intuition is your truth. It leads you to where you should be. Being more vulnerable also means sharing your truth with other like-minded people. People you admire & who make you feel safe, & who also share their truths with you. Those people we can share our pasts with & feel connected to in the present, those are the people who should be part of your future. They should be part of the new new.
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| Wise, wise man <3 |
Perhaps this new year was even more exciting, because I had this theme of living more of "my truth." It's only early-February & I feel an undeniable freshness & openness to the year. That's the thing about living your truth, you get rid of all the b.s.
Time is precious, it goes by so quickly. I want to make sure I'm doing & seeing more of the things that enrich my life & spending time with those who really matter.
And that, that is my simple truth.
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| 2014: YEAR OF MAGIC |
