Create your New Year (by Completing this Year)

Silent Night, Holy Night
All is calm, all is bright…..

Although an invite to a holiday party lights me up, I need time away from the hustle and bustle. In fact, it takes me longer to get quiet this time of the year. I spend so much time being “on” I lose the location of my “off” switch. And what I really want to do is create an exciting New Year, but I have all this old “stuff” (my previous year to-do’s that never got done) in my way. Every year I start off the same, January 1, trying to figure out what I want to create for the upcoming year, but it always feels reactionary to last night’s transgressions or an “in-order to” get somewhere I need to go (hello, new job… anyone, anyone?).

Because of that, I find that connecting to my intuition for a completion of this year and creation of the next year is so important to my holiday traditions. Winter is the most desolate part of the four seasons, and is filled with a wasteland of what was, and what is to come, and yet we try to cram celebration after celebration into a month that could be better spent by completing the tasks and thoughts left undone by lousy time management (or circumstances or toddlers–your choice).

I set aside some time during this part of the year for connection, completion and creation for a host of reasons. One, the aforementioned relocation of the “off” switch. Two, investing my time into me allows for my spiritual growth and discovery. Three, to provide an example to my girls that we are women first, and we need to cultivate our self-care and intuition without being anything to anyone for a few hours. I can’t expect my ladies to grow up and know that they need time away to connect to themselves if I never turn off.

Here is what I do to reconnect to myself, complete the year, and open up possibilities to what comes next.

Completing the Year

Things you need:
Time (2-3 hours minimum, 6 hours optimal). Yourself. No Distractions.
Things that are good to have:
Incense, candles, notebooks, pens, markers, sketchpad, comfy sweaters/ slippers and a hot mug of tea.
Bonus:
Music– whatever calls to you and gets you to connect to yourself and your creativity.

Getting started:

I let myself be for the first few hours. Like a toddler that has experienced free-flow play; I do whatever I am called to do at that moment. I write or draw, I nap or drink tea, I take a walk in the park, I make snow angels, I take a drive– whatever strikes my fancy. I let myself just be exactly as I need to be right then. There is no to do list, only a “to dream” time. I reflect on the year, the hardships and sorrows, the achievements and goals met.

I clean out the clutter of my mind with big, bold and deep breaths. I moan (yes, try it!) and focus my energy on parts of my body (or my ego) that hurt. I let myself remember the really bad stuff that happened and I say “It’s okay, it’s okay. You did it. You made it,” and I breathe in and out. I shake my body and stretch away the tension. I rock in place or dance or move. I sing songs I like to sing and I laugh or cry as I feel the need. I congratulate myself for my victories and forgive my failures.

This is important. I forgive my failures. I don’t take them into the next year. I am exactly as I should be, right now.

Sometimes, if I have a longer session when I won’t get distracted, I look back in journals and only keep the stuff that is important to me, and ditch the rest. I toss the calendars, get rid of the paperwork that burdens (and simultaneously means nothing to) me.  If I am lucky, there is a roaring fire that I can send some of my papers into in order to have that feeling of completion. I take that garbage (both the mental and the physical) outside and throw it away.

When I am satisfied that I have done the work necessary to feel “done” with the year, I call the year complete. I thank myself for my time, my struggle, my triumphs and visualize the year behind me. Sometimes I ring a bell or a gong and listen to the silence for a few moments.

Creating the New Year

It is in that silence, I can begin to create from nothing.

With sturdy feet and a sense of satisfaction, I begin to think about what I want to focus on for the next. I let myself dream again… and I ask myself these questions:

Who do I want to be this year?
How do I want others to see me?
Is it a match for who I am currently?
What would help with the gap between who I am and who I want to be?

I usually come up with a word or a phrase that will keep me grounded while I go throughout my year, and it reminds me of who I want to be. I make a drawing with that word that I use as artwork in my office, as my touchstone when I need strength.  A touchstone for everything I want to be, and that (to me) is beautiful.

When I feel like I am satisfied, and I am drunk on the clearing and the possibilities of the future, I snuggle into bed and dream big dreams. Just like I say to my ladies before they go to sleep, I give myself the space to dream big. And sleep in heavenly peace for the year to come.

This year, midst the tinsel and the holly, the candles and the snowmen, after the gifts are shared and the feast is eaten, take some time for yourself. Connect to your inner intuition. Congratulate yourself on another year, and forgive yourself for what needs to be let go. Don’t hold onto what doesn’t serve you. Complete your year with an exhale out and create the next year with the same excitement as a toddler on Christmas – full of possibilities for new adventures to come.

What are some of your traditions or rituals that set you up powerfully for the new adventures of the year ahead?