As we approached the new year, I noticed that a casual stroll through my social media feed was flooded with posts, memes, and hashtags celebrating the decimation of 2020 and the eager anticipation of stepping into better times at the stroke of midnight. As I read, I pictured in my mind a magic portal that would sweep across the globe and clean up the mess left behind by 2020 as the new year rolled in. Magical thinking! I guess it didn’t work, because as we have already seen, 2021 has rolled in, and as a whole, it looks pretty much the same.
I am absolutely ready to move forward into better days, but I know that the change does not occur just by the virtue of writing 2021 instead of 2020. There is so much more to it than that. Although new seasons do usher in fresh new energies that can be tremendously supportive to us, new seasons are not magical in and of themselves. The magic lies within us. It begins with our intention and in aligning our lives to that intention. Change is simple, but it’s not easy!
Glancing Back before Stepping Forward
Sometimes the best way to set an intention that allows us to move forward is by first glancing back. Glance is the operative word here. Look back through the rearview mirror with some space and distance—with a new perspective while keeping our eyes forward on the road ahead. That glance may allow us to properly process 2020 before we are ready to kiss it goodbye and drive forward into 2021 without the extra baggage in our trunk.
A good place to start is by looking back at the past year with a perspective of gratitude. Yes, I know how annoying it is for someone to keep telling you to look at the brightside when you are wrapped in worry, frustration, grief, and anger. I get that. But, there are tiny nuggets of good to be found buried in the rubble of 2020. We can still feel our feelings, but there is a lot of value in shifting perspective for a moment to look for the nuggets. Those nuggets are gifts that made their way to us even through the storm. Gather them up, and take them with you into 2021. Those nuggets of gratitude are powerful possessions that we want to hold onto.
And what about the wisdom? The lessons? Those are also gifts, but if we are too busy trying to escape the moment, we may miss the wisdom that that very moment holds. We were called to slow down—to be still so that we could hear and be guided. We still can. It’s not too late. Sit in this moment. Listen. Learn—about yourself and about the world around you. Be open. Allow the wisdom gleaned to change how you move forward. It doesn’t change the circumstance, at least not right away, but at least you have the ability to take something of value away from experience that may shift your future for the better.
Intention and Alignment
And then what? Take an intentional step forward based on what you have learned. An intentional step that allows your new life to emerge from the ashes of 2020 and move forward with purpose. The ashes, the rubble, are the aspects that you are being called to leave behind. I think we all have a lot that we want to leave behind in 2020—old ways of thinking that proved to be irrelevant or untrue, habits that seemed important that no longer hold value, and material things that we learned to live without.
Intention and alignment. That’s the magic that will usher in better times ahead. It starts within us, not with our calendar. We can start at any time, we just have to decide, and do it. It doesn’t always change our circumstances right away, but it most definitely puts us on the right path.
We are already midway through January, but Happy New Year! Sending you love and light and hopes for a wonderful new beginning at whichever point you decide to use your magic.
Be WELL,
Kami
BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you!