Welcome 2013

You can often hear me say that each new month brings the promise of a new day, but nothing quite brings a bigger promise than a brand new year. January is always a welcome friend. There are few things that bring me greater joy than a fresh year and another chance to get things right. We are gifted another shot at achieving those goals, or finishing the ones we have already set.

I am over the silly ideas of new year’s resolutions. I am nearly 40 now and I know the value of intention and I know that the best way to create a new path or habit is to honour myself and I don’t wait until January to do that. I try to do that all year long. I said try... it is easy to lose sight of ourselves amidst soccer schedules, swimming camps and grocery lists.

January to me is more about remembering what I want out of my life and where I want to be and who I want to be. I can quite honestly say that for the most part I am beyond satisfied with my life and who I am but I am just very aware that there is always opportunity to grow and mature. There is so much in this world that I am not familiar with, each year I just want to expand my horizons and to set some goals that will allow me to become who I am meant to be. I don’t believe that we are ever done evolving nor do I believe that we ever come to a place where we can stop trying to become our most authentic selves. Each passing year acts as a compass that leads us one step closer to that elusive thing we refer to when we speak of our 'authentic selves'...  I can honestly say the older I get the more I understand what the term means and the more work I seem to have in front of me to get there.

Finding our authentic selves is a quest that lasts a life time, but this year that is one of my only goals, to be mindful of what that means to me and how to honour it in any given situation. This means staying in my own power and staying true to myself despite the needs of those around me. A tall order for what I feel is going to be a simple year.

2013 feels fresh. It feels clean and uncomplicated. As I embark on this month I go into it with a feeling of strength and control. I have a list of to do’s that involve simplifying my life. As I mentioned before, cleansing closets and cupboards, but I also have some inner housekeeping to do also. This past week I have had time to reflect on where I have been spending my energy and where the energy vampires as I like to call them has snuck up and in to my life. I need to pay some extra attention on righting those imbalances and staying true to honouring my authentic self as I mentioned. I feel that I owe it to those few and precious friendships that fill my well, that I pay them their due attention and unconditional love that they so effortlessly give me. Those are the friendships I choose to tend to this coming year. I seem to have some very lovely people in my lives, and indeed some of the new ones deserve some time and attention, while some of the peripheral ones can continue to stay there. I encourage you to do your own inventory... it may be time to reevaluate too...

With 2012 behind us, and what a blessed year she was, she was also very demanding and very emotionally taxing. My family enjoyed huge rewards and have also paid some high prices for the rest of the many joys. It is my hope that 2013 is a calm, easy year with no surprises and no extremes. I will pray for a laid back year where the big surprises are for someone else’s family this year. I will sit back and graciously be happy for someone else to globe trot, get the big promotion or build their new dream house. I just want to cozy on into my home with my family and to enjoy the blessings that we already have.

2013 feels like she is going to be a lamb of a year. Steady and stationed, not too dramatic yet it feels like she will carry on at a steady pace that requires you to be present and aware. Sounds like just the kind of year that I am up for. I have heard from many others that have very similar feelings. This year there seems to be a common theme, more so than usual, people just want to be happy. They just want to enjoy the lives that they have and are creating for themselves. Isn’t that what we should all be doing all the time? If only it were so easy. I know for myself, I can easily get caught up in the happenings of the day's news. I am such an empath that I end up feeling a lot of what is happening to others. I have to make an effort to not take on what is happening in other people’s worlds. Sometimes I feel guilty for not allowing myself to go there, but the reality is, that we all have our own lives that absolutely cross paths but that we, I, must remain in my own life. That has been an AHA! Moment for me this year so far… staying in my own life so that it can remain simple. That doesn’t mean I cannot enjoy other people’s successes and triumphs or offer support to their crisis, it just means that I, we, don’t need to walk in their shoes. It may prove to be more helpful to walk beside them and to help lead the way while their light has been dimmed.

I have friends who can do this very well and I have often wondered if they were callus or cold, how could they be just so disconnected from their friends, I would wonder. As it turns out I am the one out of balance and have been needing to tear a page out of their book of how to be a good friend without over spending energy in a needless way.

AHA! That only took 39 years to figure out how to step back and out  in order to step up and in...

We are back at home now from the cabin. The fire is blazing, the kids are reading their new books, and the Silver Fox and I are sharing a glass of wine and just enjoying our home and the blessings within. The first day of 2013 has proven to be a welcomed glimpse of what a beautiful year is to come.

My wish for you this year is that you find the joy you look for and that many more find you. May your hearts be filled with friendship and may you enjoy more love than your heart can handle. 

I look forward to experiencing what this year will bring to us. May it be filled with beauty and may it hold more keys to our most authentic lives.

Happy New Year!!

love & light,

t.