Just One Thing
As we come to the end and beginning of another calendar year, many pause to reflect and make what’s called a ‘New Years Resolution.’ This becomes an expression of intent to muster the courage, commitment and follow through to enhance our lives. It comes from an inner disposition to progress from dissonance to resonance, regress to progress, angst to liberation. It reflects a desire to increase the love, joy, peace and prosperity in our lives. It’s meant to be a solution but often becomes another problem.
The problem is we make resolutions that are too big to handle, too complex to follow through with, too radical a departure from our habitual patters to be integrated into our daily lives. The solution can be a three month sojourn in the wilderness, quitting our job, leaving our present circumstances or paring down our expectations to just one thing at a time. I had a conversation with a friend the other day who said she was going to work on one simple thing this year that she could engage and practice every day.
Her resolution was to stop using ‘I, me, my, mine;’ all of which are ego separation affirmations. Her rationale was that in order to experience the interconnectivity of all beings, she felt she had to break the habit of division in her language. In so doing she would unhinge the cognitive duality by replacing it with the sacred unity of ‘we, us, ours, thy.’ This reminded me of an architect associate who always uses ‘we’ and ‘our’ when referring to his work even though he’s a sole proprietor.
What’s being suggested here is that if a resolution is to be made, it needs to be something so simple that it can be accomplished anywhere at anytime. The reason is that it’s extremely difficult to break old habits without ongoing positive reinforcement from within our environments. We are our own environments and we live among all kinds of other environments. To make adjustments and course corrections we need support wherever we are. This comes from simplicity, awareness, receptivity and action.
- To make a course correction, what One Thing speaks to the next step in your growing awareness, wholeness and wellbeing? What One Thing could be a Light to enhance your courage, meaning, appreciation, love, joy and peace? Be still within this question and listen for the One Thing that can be practiced throughout the day everyday until the old is replaced by the new. Ask for clues, give attention, feel the new.
- The new year lasts fifty two weeks. Allow this movement to be a program that comes from deep within. Let it be a heart and soul thing that guides and directs. Let the wisdom flow. Listen and follow. Little by little there will be great accomplishment. Awaken daily to discern, relax, observe and process for a joyous New Year and when you falter, practice kindness and begin again and again and again with a smiling heart.
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