Hey, Amy
here.
We are coming up quickly on the end of the year... it has literally flown by.
I always find this time of year is such a good time to reflect back over the last year to see if I accomplished what I set out to accomplish in the last 12 months, and also to think about what I want to make of the coming year.
And, usually, my intentions and
goals have more to do with what I'm letting go of, what I don't want to bring with me into the new year... not just things I want to do or accomplish.
I do a ritual every year, whether it's on my own or at my spiritual center or wherever... where I write down the things I want to let go of as I enter into the new year.
When I do it at home, I make a list and
then I either burn it or bury it in the yard.
Last year I went to a burning bowl ceremony on New Year's eve where we got to write down the things we wanted to let go of on a piece of paper and then we all lined up and placed our paper one by one in a big fire.
I love this ritual.
The
other thing we did that day was we wrote down our intentions for the new year on a small piece of paper and put them in a self addressed envelope and left them at the church. And our minister said she would mail them to us at the end of the year so we could reflect back.
And I just received mine in the mail which was pretty eye opening.
I feel like some
of it happened, and some of it didn't... but it's great because it gives me something to intend for the coming year.
I cried when I read it.
It really brought up a lot for me, I guess partly because looking back at what I wrote I can see the actual growth and progress that I've made in less than a year, and it's remarkable.
And on the other hand, I cried because I can see
how much work I still need to do in some of these areas... how I didn't grow as much as I wanted to this year.
When it comes to growth, or spiritual awakening, letting go of the things that no longer serve us is always required.
We have to let go.
