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authenticity, awareness, Compassion, dedication, devotion, discipline, energy work, heartfelt, Joy, Love, meditation, New Year, New Year's Resolutions, nutrition, resolutions, spirituality
Since the last week of December I have been grappling with the issue of “New Year’s Resolutions” (not that anyone else would have noticed, except for the occasional furrowing of my brow, gnawing on my lip, or distant stare). I am resistant to the tradition of these resolutions because, as many less tactful friends have bluntly put it, they just don’t work. As every new year begins, I see people earnestly resolving their intentions, over and over. With all my heart I want to support them in achieving their objectives and desires, but to me there is always an aura of futility present whenever New Year’s Resolutions are made.
I looked up the word resolution in the American Heritage Dictionary, where its definition is described as “a firm decision” and “the action of solving a problem”. The first part of the definition feels effortful to me, like I’m gonna have to work hard at it, it’s going to require discipline, a dreaded word which I have yet to come into good relationship with. The second half of the definition holds the problem in constant relationship with the solution, so we’re always carrying the vibration of the problem with us in our resolution.
Don’t get me wrong – I am not afraid to work hard for what I want, and I can be very disciplined when I am clear with how that discipline supports my desires. I just cringe at the idea of re-solving a re-occurring problem every January. Speaking in terms of Law of Attraction, I’d like “what I want” to be the predominant vibration of my solution.
So yesterday during a session, it came to me – as these things do when one’s mind is quiet and not thinking too hard – the word dedication. I immediately felt a difference in the vibration of the word dedication, as compared to resolve. It seemed like dedication was heart-felt, rather than head-thought. Then, The Voice (the one we all have in our heads) asked the question “what are you dedicated to?” and the answer came pretty swiftly; Love, Peace, Joy, Compassion, and a constant Awareness of the Divine. Then, like dominoes of thought, it came to me that dedication is the axis around which our intentions revolve, and discipline builds the framework which will house, honor and nourish our devotion. So clarifying and consistently revisiting our dedication will make the necessary discipline much easier to align ourselves with.
The next question The Voice posed was “how do you serve your dedication?” Hmmm…. for me, the response was “to live as openly, presently, authentically, heartfully and vibrantly as possible”. And finally, I was asked – “what discipline(s) are you willing to adopt to serve your dedication?” Ahhh – herein lies the connection with resolutions. What systems (or disciplines) need maintenance in order to honor my devotion? Well, like a lot of us, I have had ample opportunity to investigate and practice many systems which I feel vitalize my open-hearted presence and authenticity; exercise, meditation, energy work, nutrition, mindfulness, spiritual practice. I just sometimes lose the focus and diligence required in maintaining that framework to the degree I desire.
So perhaps what is appropriate at the beginning of a new year (or, the arbitrary time delineation, as a Facebook friend so aptly put it) is that rather than re-solving my “problem” I’ll re-dedicate myself to nourishing my devotion and re-vitalizing the disciplines that support it. As the Celtic sort, and student of the Five Elements that I am, I note that the upcoming first of February, the celebration of Imbolg, marks the beginning of spring when wood energy begins to arise. I think I’ll begin there, by building a fire, doing a purification ritual, and rededicating myself to the disciplines which constitute the framework of my devotion.