I have never been a fan of new year’s resolutions. To me, it implies a lack of trust in ourselves to truly love, nurture and care for ourselves. In the end, we should know in our bones that self-care is not optional and should come from a place of love and not arise from a punitive, judging place, either from inside or outside of ourselves. Resolutions may come from a well-meaning place of improving health and raising one’s accountability, however when we look at the definition of the root for the resolution we start to see where things go awry.
Resolve means to make a definitive and serious decision about something usually involving a good dose of self-judgment, loathing, and an even larger portion of willpower.
This type of resolve seems to ooze materialism, what can we buy to help us become healthier, what is the new gadget the new app, or membership to help cheer us on. I feel it also leans towards the masculine archetype of doing and getting it done!
A good friend of mine said her husband had one tool in his toolbox, a hammer! We were talking about the life skills toolbox, and this made us all laugh. This is so true and not to be stereotypical, this tool speaks not just to male energy but also modern-day energy of finding a quick fix. Nail it in and be done, no examination, graceful or not so graceful dancing with reality or bow to the mystery of life required.
I suggest a new tradition, the new year’s evolution which is more attuned to the feminine energy of fluidity and allowance for being rather than always accomplishing and checking off boxes. When we speak of evolution, we give credence to the truth that nothing stays the same. When we are open to exploring the divinity within us, perhaps we approach our lives with more fluidly, acceptance, and grace, enamored with the idea that something else is moving us, something powerful and mystical that we do not truly understand. We are often our worst enemy when we try to put ourselves and our world into a square box; no matter how hard we try, we will never contain the brilliance of our soul and this life.
So instead of hitting your head, heart, and body with yet another painful blow of the new year’s resolution hammer, truly consider what you could lightly hold with kindness and trust as you care for yourself more deeply this year.
For me, that involves getting right with God over and over again. I like the yogic gesture of bringing prayer hands to my third eye or mind asking that my thoughts align with his thoughts. Followed by prayer hands to lips, this one I need the most and have written on my heart as my new year’s evolution, may my words align with God’s words. I will falter at this as the world loves words of every kind, especially words that cut and judge. May more words align with God, both towards myself and how I treat myself with kindness and in ways that feed all of the layers of my being. Also, in the words, I share with the world. Again and again, I will ask myself is it true? is it necessary? is it kind?
Lastly, prayer hands to the heart, may I align with the wisdom of my own heart. This wisdom is steeped in love and trust, it is not even really mine because when I call it to mine it is overlaid with ego. I ask to release my ego so my heart can grow even larger so that I hold myself, my family, and my world in the universal big love way that only God can.
Happy New Year my friends, when we take the big leap to evolve mentally and spiritually, care of the body seems easier. “Be kind to your body, gentle with your mind, and patient with your heart. Stay true to your spirit, cherish your soul and never doubt yourself. You are still becoming, my love, and there is no one more deserving of the nurturing grace of your love.”― Becca Lee
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