It’s once again time to ring in the New Year. Where did last year go? I actually missed a credit card payment because November went by so quickly, I thought I had just made the payment! It’s also the time to evaluate, reassess, and take a hard look at priorities and where life is leading.
Crises Continue
It’s another year starting with restrictions and some doom and gloom as even vaccinated people are coming down with the Omicron variant. I keep reflecting on how our parents and grandparents managed crises and faced threats. It was likely easier without social media. They just had to look at their own town, neighbors, and take care of what they could immediately in front of them.
For us, we are shown bad news and horrors from around the world. CNN was flashing images from Senegal, Tehran, the Brazilian rainforest, Somalian refugees, and the list goes on. Meanwhile, local channels highlight tornadoes in the Midwest, COVID numbers in New York, and honeybees dying in record numbers. It’s hard to catch a break from the feeling that we are heading into the apocalypse.
Take a Step Back
So, as we head into the new year, how about we go back to our elders’ world our neighborhoods, streets, families, and friends. We need to demonstrate acts of kindness in our daily lives and our own circle, which can create a butterfly effect to spread across the world.
If I am too upset by things happening globally, I may miss what’s happening in my own backyard. It is a real exercise in mindfulness to just look around you and find one act of kindness or one moment of awe that can create momentum to bring joy to others.
Start Your Day
How can you get started? When you open your eyes in the morning or even just when your brain comes on line start your daily affirmation.
“Today is a good day. It is another day to bring light into my surroundings and make an impact in my immediate world. I have the power to make changes in the universe.”.
Notice how powerful it feels to know that you can make a difference. Notice the positivity flow through your body instead of the dread of another day. Make the affirmation your own, your own words, and your own statement of power.
Make It Your Year
So, let’s start the new year with a new sense of power, a sense that we can make a difference. As Gandhi is quoted to have said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Others say what he really said is this:
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own true nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him.”
But it all starts within. You have the power. Here’s to a Happy New Year!
