New Years Day Thoughts...

 

New Years Day thoughts…

Like many on this day I am reflective. 2022 has dripped away and fallen into the common pool of history and the year ahead is a blank slate which I look to with both hope and anticipation.

I do not make resolutions, per se, but instead set goals. Sort of a visualization technique where I image what I want the end of the year to look like and take necessary steps over coming months to achieve it. I didn’t do this in 2022 but have in the past and it is effective. To make it more concrete I write down my goals as something to refer to throughout the year and, not to be too rigid with myself, allow the list to be fluid and changing.

This year, for example, in addition to various travel plans and the completion of a few publication projects, I added 12 books. By this I mean to read a book a month. I used to read so much but in recent years have not, so this will give me incentive, especially now that nearly every book is available electronically and can be carried and read anywhere.  

There are other goals, of course, and the list is in no particular order except one. On top of the list I placed, “Pray and Meditate Daily,” because this, I believe, is the foundation of everything in my life. If I am in sync with my most inner self (which is where that which is greater than us resides) then everything will fall into place and I’ll be prepared for whatever storms come my way, literally and metaphorically.

While prayer and meditation can be done almost everywhere and at any time I find it most effective while sitting at my home altar. And on days when I cannot pray or meditate—when I cannot train my “monkey mind” to settle down—I’ll simply sit. And this, I also believe are first steps in accomplishing the remaining goals for the year.

I’ll also be honest in saying that this past year has not been one of my best and look forward to a better one in 2023.

Happy New Year to all, we can make it a good one.