Here we are again, together marking another rotation of our planet around the sun. As this cycle ends and a new one dawns, you, like me, may be considering what resolutions you want to make for the new year. But let's be honest. Does not the vibrant rainbow we see on January 1st of what our future holds (if we can just commit to our resolutions) so often fade to grey come February? Still, it is true that the cyclical nature of time on this planet does hold a great blessing in its offer of a chance to reflect, start afresh, and try again until we 'get it', and let us not make light of that blessing.
So what stops us from making our resolve stick? Could it be our vice-like grip on the story line or plot of what our life 'should' look like. Can this attachment over-ride our efforts to change, and thus we reset back to the comforts of autopilot? As Albert Einstein said, 'No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it', so that door that opens for us to make changes like quitting smoking, coffee or alcohol, losing weight, exercising more, or eating healthy foods can close quickly when our level of understanding about what honestly drives our behavior is not revealed. The 'why' of our harmful choices holds the key to complete change:
'Why do I need substances to numb out or distract myself?'
'What is it I am trying to avoid feeling?'
'Why have I chosen to be driven by a part of me that allows choices that are harming to myself and others?'
'Why do I so often not explore the why of my behaviors?'
Do we not avoid such questioning simply because we don't want to be busted?! We may work extremely hard not to be exposed by others, our secret wounds wrapped in the bandages of a life that may outwardly appear to be great - so why would we go through the painful process of personally exposing the soup we are in? If in sensing the pain of our wounds we develop a belief that delving within ourselves will only find something loathsome, if we don't sense even an inkling of the magnificent jewel of our true nature hiding in that soup, we may be terrified to take this level of responsibility. Especially to take not partial, but 100% responsibility for the situation we are in. Yet taking gentle, loving responsibility for the complete exposure of the illusion we are in is just what may stand between a mere existence, and daily joyful living and truth. My favorite cartoonist, Michael Leunig illustrates this for us beautifully:
So what stops us from making our resolve stick? Could it be our vice-like grip on the story line or plot of what our life 'should' look like. Can this attachment over-ride our efforts to change, and thus we reset back to the comforts of autopilot? As Albert Einstein said, 'No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it', so that door that opens for us to make changes like quitting smoking, coffee or alcohol, losing weight, exercising more, or eating healthy foods can close quickly when our level of understanding about what honestly drives our behavior is not revealed. The 'why' of our harmful choices holds the key to complete change:
'Why do I need substances to numb out or distract myself?'
'What is it I am trying to avoid feeling?'
'Why have I chosen to be driven by a part of me that allows choices that are harming to myself and others?'
'Why do I so often not explore the why of my behaviors?'
Do we not avoid such questioning simply because we don't want to be busted?! We may work extremely hard not to be exposed by others, our secret wounds wrapped in the bandages of a life that may outwardly appear to be great - so why would we go through the painful process of personally exposing the soup we are in? If in sensing the pain of our wounds we develop a belief that delving within ourselves will only find something loathsome, if we don't sense even an inkling of the magnificent jewel of our true nature hiding in that soup, we may be terrified to take this level of responsibility. Especially to take not partial, but 100% responsibility for the situation we are in. Yet taking gentle, loving responsibility for the complete exposure of the illusion we are in is just what may stand between a mere existence, and daily joyful living and truth. My favorite cartoonist, Michael Leunig illustrates this for us beautifully:
So whatever your personal resolutions are for our next rotation around the Sun, consider joining me in losing the plot and just connecting. Lose everything you carry that stops you from being the real, radically beautiful you. Lose it as a great act of self-love. Lose it to deepen your understanding of who we truly are. Lose it so you may fully commit to your self-honoring new year's resolutions. Lose it so you can know there is nothing you need to gain, and thus begin to wake to living your true purpose here on Earth.
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