The difference between transformation by accident and transformation by a system is like the difference between lightning and a lamp. Both give illumination, but one is dangerous and unreliable while the other is relatively safe and available. Marilyn Ferguson –“The Aquarian Conspiracy”
It is time to say goodbye to the tumultuous ride marked 2012.
Some who take a roller coaster ride have the intestinal fortitude to raise their hands over their heads while screaming wildly into the wind, abandoning themselves to the experience. Others, reluctantly lock themselves into their seats, take a few extra gulps of air and hold on for dear life as the slow, inevitable climb up the first hill yields to the head-jerking whiplash, twisting and turning that at least has to its credit the fact that it is over fast.
Of course, there are those who simply refuse to even consider taking the ride and are content to sit on the sidelines of life, passing the time from here to there in exactly the way they always do, whether at an amusement park or on their living room couch.
This past year often resembled Mr. Toad’s wild ride. Add to that, personal triumphs and tragedies and it seems that the old concept of creating a list of New Year’s resolutions smacks of a quaint, too little, too late approach to effective preparation for a new year.
If the experience of the last 12 months proved an E ticket ride, it is pointless to commit to harsh, unyielding demands that require overhauling the fragmented life left after the storm. If your internal home, your core solidity, was shaken in 2012, logically 2013 will require slow, patient, rebuilding of new foundations to catch your breath, grieve, and heal your losses.
If your core values and beliefs are working and have carried you successfully through another year, perhaps this year will invite you to hold an open house to court more intimacy, warmth and meaningful personal interactions in your inner circle of treasured people and enriching life experiences.
If your foundation is solid but the parameters of your day to day experience are sketchy, this year may have at its core the dual job of creating a new vision and doing the work required to bring new dreams, hopes, and plans out into the light of day.
Maybe it’s time to take a softer, more forgiving and whimsical approach to envisioning 2013.
Rather than taking on the impossible task of turning a junkyard dog into a trusted companion, let’s first put an imaginary fence around traumatic events of the past year.
Next, find a cozy place to sit and muse with a cup of coffee and pen and paper and write a letter to 2012. Start the letter with Dear 2012, Here is everything I can currently recall about my experience with you. Then simply give yourself permission to pour out on the paper, in exactly the way the memories come to mind, your thoughts and feelings, joys, sorrows, glad and happy outcomes, all intertwined and in no particular order..
This is enough of an undertaking for one sitting. When you are ready for part two, create some quiet, alone time once again.
This time, write a friendly invitation to 2013. Imagine this next year is a dear and trusted friend that you are longing to welcome into your heart.
Pull generously from your memories of enriching experiences from as far back as you can remember. Bring to mind those experiences that graced you with love, acceptance and renewed your vitality and resolve to live fully and love well. Tuck both letters away and revisit them this same time next year.
Decide today to take the courageous step of prying your tightly grasping fingers from the roll bar that you have erected to shield yourself from the unforeseen future. May this New Year bring you all the secret delights your heart can imagine.
Susan is the author of Beyond Intellect: Journey Into the Wisdom of Your Intuitive Mind. Learn more at: susanvelasquez.com or [email protected].
