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What do you do to mark the New Year? As one year closes and the new one stretches out before us I always feel as though I should be doing something to mark the crossover. The older I get the more true it becomes.
I've done resolutions. I find them depressing.
Each year, my husband and I set goals for the year- family, financial, social, personal... and we post them, review them and track our progress as the days and months tick by. But that's more to keep us on track through the year and doesn't scratch my itch as far as rite of passage for the New Year.
In my younger years, I went to this Unity Church Burning Bowl Service. It's very ceremonial and was gratifying. There's some guided journal prompts and you're encouraged to put in writing the situations that you feel you need to let go of as the New Year arrives and the old one fades. Each person present is able to put their papers into a large bowl that holds a flame and your cares go up in smoke.
This year, I'm working a combination of the two things... planning and ceremony. Instead of resolutions, I'm going for a 'theme'. I'm still ironing out the theme, but like all New Years resolutions, it revolves around leaving 2014 better than I entered it. I think that I'm going with a theme of 'Enjoy'. That seems to cover a lot of territory and allows me to focus on joy and being present in the moment. That in turn covers eating healthier, moving my body in ways that feel good and taking care of myself in general. Something that I haven't been all that great at lately.
So, on New Years Eve, I'll be having my own midnight ceremony at the fire pit in my back yard. Marking the change in year. Attraversiamo, my friends. Let's cross over.
