Think you can stay stuck forever? Think again.
Photo courtesy of Tomas Tuma
With every New Year comes the promise of a shiny new YOU.
It is as if, with the marking of each new year, we are gifted with
a new beginning...
a fresh start...
a clean slate...
a do-over...
and over
and over.
The New Year marks a symbolic moment in time in which we declare our desire for a
new job
new attitude
new weight
new relationship
new goal
and or
new habit.
And all of this new-ness brings to life a renewed hope for our future; one filled with happiness and joy, health and prosperity, peace and fulfillment.
It is all so exciting, isn't it?
Filled with the good cheer and celebration of the season,
we feel sure that this year will be our year.
We feel sure that this year will be the one that changes everything!
And then Monday rolls around and we slowly begin to dismantle and degrade our once exuberant and bold declarations of new-ness.
We claim that we will try again tomorrow...maybe.
Over time, we find ourselves snuggling deeper into that cocooned comfort zone of familiarity.
We begin to convince ourselves that our vision for the year was
too unrealistic,
too difficult,
too time consuming.
We convince ourselves that things are fine...just as they are...unchanged.
Perhaps we'll try again next year.
We find solace in those who claim that 'people can't change,' so why try.
We justify our actions or lack thereof with this thought.
It soothes the pain deep down inside where the truth lies dormant...for now.
It pacifies our shame or guilt
in not following through,
in not staying committed,
in not honoring what we say we want.
Our heart can only be fooled for so long, however.
For in the midnight hour, as we lie awake wondering about our life and what it would take to change that thing we said we wanted to change...we acknowledge that once dormant truth:
People DO change.
We change.
ALL. THE. TIME.
We call to mind the words of a young pilot in the Christmas story, 'The Shepherd,' who thought he was about to die,
"the worst thing is not the fact of dying but the fact of all the things never done."
We wonder if we are the type of person that requires a life altering experience to make clear what we must and will do to create change for ourselves.
We call to mind all of the people that have persevered and overcome obstacles; carried on with grace and grit, no matter the circumstance.
We wonder if we are the type of person that lacks determination, perseverance or grit.
And then in a flash of clarity,
we call to mind a deeper truth:
we have done difficult
we have done determined
we have done grace and grit
over and over again.
And here we still stand.
Capable of more. Still.
So perhaps this year,
we can wholeheartedly commit to ourselves and our desires,
free in the knowledge that we are capable of change and grit, hard work and determination.
And so..
May 2020 be the year to live fearlessly.
May 2020 be the year to honor growth and change.
May 2020 be the year to accept the unexpected.
May 2020 be the year to lead with kindness.
May 2020 be the year to cherish the little moments.
May 2020 be the year to embrace joy.
May 2020 be the year to find grace and beauty in all its many forms,
no matter what.