Another year of Life… how blessed and grateful I am, for all the beauty, tears, joy, wonder and community this year has brought.
I have friends that scoff at the ‘New Year’, they say it’s just another day, no big deal. I used to think so too… but since entering the shamanic practitioner’s path, which is so vast and endless, I have come to appreciate rituals and rites of passage more than ever. Some of us have become cynical to the old ways, others romanticize them. In both cases, we are still living in the past. I see the new year, whether we celebrate it at the winter solstice – which actually makes more sense to me – or January 1, as an opportunity to celebrate a mini rite of passage. There is a clear threshold we pass from December 31 to Januray 1, which in many places is marked by hoorahs, fireworks, embraces, phone calls. As with all rites of passage, this is a great opportunity to leave the past behind and to bring our gaze to ‘now’, to the path ahead as it is unfolding, with clear vision, unobstructed by ghosts and unfinished business.
If we took this seriously, we would spend more time on the 31st in true ceremony, acknowledging the lessons and gifts from the year that passed, how they fit into the grandness of our lives, and then setting a clear intention for the days to come. We write resolutions, but this is not the same as intentions. Intentions come from the heart, and ideally after truly embracing the lessons of the past. We would cross the threshold with wisdom, paying attention to how this one more year of life taught us.
I like to do this by looking back over the year that has passed and notice the milestones of each month. Notice the feelings and stories attached to the milestones. What did I need to learn there? Lessons can come in bliss and in suffering, sometimes it is actually harder to see the lessons when they are accompanied by joy. I certainly struggle to find the lessons from the events that have brought me joy!
The best lessons are those that shatter belief systems and make space for more of that terrifying unknown. Yes, happiness, connection and bliss can also shatter belief systems, that is what healing is.
How beautiful, to wake up on the new year, not knowing what is coming, but grounded and clear on what has been, about how our character has been cultivated into a resilient and adaptable whole.
This day, indeed it is January 1, 2024, I awoke with the phrase “Damn, it’s good to be alive!”. I was actually a little shocked, this was not a conscious thought, it just bubbled up as I stretched in bed.
I did look back over this year, and the gifts I have received are almost overwhelming to me. I have deepened my friendships with incredible souls from all over the world, I have witnessed my little girl begin to turn into a young woman, I have laughed, cried, and sang in community, I have sat in silence with hearts and minds that spoke volumes, I have seen healing and magic again and again. Each of these, and many not mentioned, are lessons and gifts, and I honor each one, as countless as they seem. Many of them are hidden in the details of life, but they become explosive when I pay attention.
At the end of the day – and of the year – what this all comes down to is gratitude.
We go through this rite of passage each year, so that we may look back in gratitude.
There is no other way to learn, to become wise.
Only gratitude.
With our heart, our mind, our gut.
With each cell of our breathing, juicy body.
Do you have a ritual for the new year? I would LOVE to read about other’s rites of passage, I know I am not the only one.
