This is the point in the year at which so many people start thinking of letting go of the old and bringing in the new. As we head into 2017, how many of you are thinking, “I’m going to be so glad when 2016 is over. I’m really looking forward to a new year and a fresh start.”??? The New Year has always been symbolic for new beginnings and with that, resolutions, dreams, hopes, desires. All of that is positive thinking and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but from my perspective, life is “lifey”. It all keeps flowing, happening, building, crashing down, and building back again. January 1st is no different than today or tomorrow or the next day. We get to have a “new year” concept each and every day of the year, not only on the first day of it, no matter what.
So, what exactly is it that you are desiring for yourself come January 1st and why wait? What is it that’s in your heart and on your mind that you are seeking in order to have the sense of starting over? The truth is, there IS no starting over. There’s continuing onward and allowing ourselves to know that the possibilities are always there for us to have what we want, every day.
I’ve been practicing this concept which I call “hitting the reset button” every morning. I was doing it faithfully for awhile and it really was great. Then, “lifey” happened and so many things derailed me. I stopped doing it. I went dark for awhile. Now, I’m back to it and it is lifting me up, little by little and I’m seeing the difference every day. Hitting the reset button is our best and greatest chance at starting fresh with brand new momentum and positive energy every day. When we go to bed at night, often depleted from the day, sleep takes us to the end of whatever cycle we were on. Momentum stops. Waking up, is our greatest opportunity. Sleep has been our reset button and just like in the movie Groundhog’s Day, we begin again. The only difference is that we have a choice, right then to repeat the same stuff that has brought us down over and over or to choose fresh and new. Bill Murray didn’t get the choice until he truly let go of his own struggles.
So, with this choice that we all have, what do we do? I, for one, allow myself to be ok with waking and staying in bed for some moments. I take those moments now, rather than bolting out of bed as though I were launched like a heat seeking missile, ready to fight the day. (talk about starting off with negative energy!) I notice how good it feels to be awake and how nice the bed feels and how warm and cozy I am. It’s a little treat. In those moments, I can focus on just feeling good where I am. For me, this has taken lots of practice, but it’s so worth it in all of its simplicity. If my mind begins to travel to “all the stuff I have to do today”, I rein it back in and focus on just feeling nice in my bed.
When I finally touch my feet to the floor, it’s slow and easy. I no longer rush to my desk or my computer to check my emails, but have a nice glass of water, turn on the coffee and I begin to imagine myself on the top of the world where everything is ok and stable. These are the best times for quiet reflection, for meditation, for stretching or yoga, for reflective writing, or for just lying next to my doggies on the floor and feeling that unconditional love. All of you have something that you can do to create a positive morning routine.
This is what I call starting the day with good momentum. It’s really your best shot. Positive momentum is much harder to create once your day has spun onward and life becomes “lifey” (I love that word, as you can tell). Imagine you’re at the base of a mountain and a boulder comes crashing down. It would be pretty impossible to stop it at that point. Now imagine If you were at the top of the mountain and could prevent that boulder from going over to begin with. You’d be in way better shape. That’s what a new day is for. It’s for hitting the reset button. It’s for using all the tools you’ve gathered for keeping your boulder up high and staying there with it. It’s for fresh and new. It’s for feeling like it’s January 1st.
Try this for 30 days in a row. Make it your new practice. Design it in the way that works best for you. You’ll see the difference. Also, know that things will come about during the course of the day, that tip your boulder off the edge and down it goes. That’s ok. Go to sleep. Morning will come around soon enough! And by the way, Happy New Year to all!