Be Free in 2023
/No More Pressure to Self-Improve
"Joy is a decision, a really brave one, about how you are going to respond to life." - Wess Stafford
2022 was quite a year for so many of us and for me, it has been a time of continued healing and recovery from the grief of my Father's passing. Elizabeth Gilbert says, "Grief does not obey your plans, or your wishes. Grief will do whatever it wants to you, whenever it wants to. In that regard, Grief has a lot in common with Love." I find these words comforting because it resonates with my experience. The gift of grief is knowing that we truly opened our hearts, cared and loved and that is why it hurts and turns things upside down. It takes time to adjust and healing is a nonlinear, messy process.
Then there is the annual pressure of needing to be different, better, improved, or we should be farther along by now, which comes with the New Year. Upon critical reflection, we usually come up short so we better pick the perfect resolutions to make up for it - this time we really need to get our act together! More pressure and for what?
This year I invite you to be playful and silly and create a new tradition. How about approaching this time of old endings and new beginnings in a new way by letting Mindfulness & Joy be your guides? How do you want to live and feel more in 2023? It's not about doing everything right, perfectly, and then we can be happy or finally be happy with who we are. If it is, sadly, this day doesn't really exist. The ego or comparing mind will always find something that doesn't quite measure up. Instead, what if we connect to the truth of who we are already? Joyfully owning our true nature that is whole and not broken. When we come from an intention to cultivate gratitude it connects us to our clarity and wisdom and can set us FREE!
We can use this time of year to reflect from a place of gratitude for all the ways we showed up, walked through adversities, and surprised ourselves with what we discovered, learned, handled, and faced. Also, from this place of loving awareness and wise perspective, we can envision what we would like to experience more of in our lives that actually gives us JOY!
Reflecting on 2022 we can ask ourselves:
- In what ways did I surprise myself and others?
- In what ways did I risk and challenge myself and others?
- In what ways did I learn something new about myself?
- In what ways did I have fun, was silly or playful?
- In what ways am I grateful for 2022?
Envisioning 2023 we can ask ourselves:
- In what ways can I allow myself to play more?
- In what ways can I allow myself to rest more?
- In what ways can I give myself permission to own more of who I am?
- In what ways can I be more curious and compassionate with myself and others?
- In what ways can I let go of the "shoulds or supposed to" and feel joyful and free?
Wishing you a practice or a way of living that inspires, supports, and leads with a playful and loving heart. May 2023 be a year of finding the gift of the present moment and may you spoil yourself with more self-love and share it with others!