There Is A River Flowing Now Very Fast

Now that the hubbub of the holidays has passed and my spaces are somewhat back to normal, I am glad to bring my attention to the flowing of the years. 

. . . I always wrote it by hand.

For my entire adult life, I have marked the ending of one year and the beginning of the next.  Throughout my twenties and thirties, I would write myself a letter.  In the letter I would reminisce over all the big movements and changes of the previous year.  Disappointments, celebrations, lessons learned.  Then I would look into the new year and write of my hopes of growths and changes that I wanted to see.  It was, inevitably, a long letter.  And I always wrote it by hand.  The single most effective processing tool for me.

On either the 31^st of December, or the 1^st of January, I would tuck in with my letter.  It was a beautiful time for me to mark my progress under the sun.  A very concrete way to chart my journey.

A Fresh Moment-Marker

In the years through my divorce and moving back home to Washington, my time of letter-writing came to an end.  There were heaps and hills and mountains of years and moments that I was processing all the time.  A simple new year’s letter, no matter how long, just wasn’t part of that process.

In the last few years, though, a fresh moment-marker has arisen for me.  I’ve come through a tremendous time of forgiving, releasing, and healing and my new reality doesn’t require as much processing as my previous one did.

During the last-ish week of December, I sit down quietly with my journal.  In a space of honest presence with myself, I ask, “What is it that you hope for the next year.  What are your intentions.”  And then, I make a relatively short list.  It’s very simple, really. 

This process takes me about a week. I like to first look back to my hopes and intentions from the year that’s closing.  And then I mull throughout the week until I’m ready to set my hopes for the new year. 

This week last year, I was setting my intention to find my purpose and place in the world and to merge households with Greg, among other things.  It is a wonderful thing to see your hopes come to fruition.  I did, in fact, find the purpose I was seeking.  My Writing Everyday adventure has really brought a number of things into focus for me.  Including the joy it brings me to share my own journey in a way that feels not only redeeming to me, but also connective. 

As for merging households with Greg, we did one better.  We got married!  To be honest, the getting married was the fun and easy part.  Merging two households full of kids and creatures and stuff is not for the faint of heart!  But also, we did that too.

Making Space For Flow

This week, I am in full flow mode with 2022 receding and 2023 rising.  On my little altar in my office, I have 2 candles burning throughout the days until the last day of this year. I have all my calendars and budgets and notes from last year on the outgoing side.  And all of my new calendars and new budgets on the incoming side.

One candle honors 2022 and all that it was.  It is my intention to send it along with blessing, forgiveness, gratitude, and release.  The other candle burns to honor 2023’s arrival in the fullness of time.  I am welcoming it in, to partner with me in ease, purpose, and abundance for my highest good.

This week, the currents of the years are strong.  The outgoing tide is pulling all that no longer serves us off the beaches of 2022.  During this time, things can get a little disorienting while energies and patterns are shifting as we allow them.  But don’t worry, the flood tide of 2023 will come, in all its fullness and newness and potential.  This can be a little overwhelming and disorienting too.  Which is exactly why I mark the moment.

By taking the time to acknowledge the year that was, and welcome the year that is to come, I am making space for all the things to be as they need to be.  At the same time, I am opening myself to release and receive in fluidity, as part of the great flow.

A Hopi Prophecy

I have a Hopi Prophecy on the wall in my office.  The end of it sums up beautifully this time of the years, flowing:

This could be a good time!  There is a river flowing now and very fast.  It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.  They will try to hold on to the shore and will suffer greatly.  Know the river has its destination.  The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.  See who is there with you and celebrate. . . All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

I wish for you a week of flow – let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river.  A week of forgiveness, gratitude, and release.  I wish for you all the space you need to be brave and hope and to plant seeds in the fertile soil of your life for this next new year.

If you are expectant or nervous or afraid, if you feel really ready, or just plain overwhelmed, let’s be friends~