Celebrating the coming of a New Year.

We are now turning another page in time, stepping into a new year, a new season, and a new consciousness too if we make it so. Often this time is one of promises to ourselves. And often these promises are worded in such a way that they resemble the "I will do better" promise indicating that we did not do well enough until now. We tend to be very hard on ourselves especially when a chance for a new beginning is ahead of us. We see it as an opportunity to judge ourselves instead of gratulating ourselves for getting through thus far. We forget to see all that we have done and all the little ways in which we tried our best. We set out for a new year to start with all the intentions of breaking a new record (this time) only to find out a few weeks later that we are still human and we have the same weaknesses that we have struggled with till now.

As an alternative, we may tell ourselves that this year we are not going to promise anything because we know we cannot keep to our resolutions so why bother. This of course might only make us feel even more like a failure, but at least we are honest with ourself and those around us. That alone is an accomplishment I my world. It takes a lot of courage to be honest with oneself.

So is anything wrong with intentions, goals, and wishes for the year to come?
No not at all. However, I do believe it is important that our heart is in it and not just our mind. Setting out for new ways is not mind over matter as most might think. We have to understand the belief system behind our patterns, sure.  But more importantly, it is the mind-set with which we embrace it, that matters most. Or rather, how we embrace ourself.

So this is what my declaration for the year sounds like. I hope it inspires you to make up one for you as well. You can also use another word like Honor instead of Embrace if that resonates better with you.

I am embracing the I that I have become with all that I have learned. The I that I aspire to be and the I that is the core of my being. I embrace the I that includes all that I am and the I that expresses what is true for me. I embrace the I of my dreams, feelings, and actions and the I that reflects all the nuances of these aspects of me. I embrace the humanness of who I am and the I that experiences how that feels when most humbling. I embrace the I who has courage to face my fears and still move though whatever happens to come my way as I accept, love, and respect every part of myself and my actions. I embrace the person that I am and the person I will become, knowing that whatever comes I will embrace as well.