The Gift of a Fresh Page...

It’s a new year and just like that 2022 is upon us!

And with a new year comes the usual flood of “New Year - New YOU”.

Each new year we are bombarded with messaging around starting new diets, new exercise plans, turning over a new leaf with habits and generally reinventing ourselves. The overall theme of the new year seems to be; you are not good enough as you are and you must be improved, remodelled into a newer better version of self. Is it any wonder then, that we often fail to stick to these freshly laid plans, these new intentions and goals? Is it any wonder we lose motivation?

What if this new year we embraced the gift of a fresh new calendar year, a fresh new page, in a different way?

What if this year instead of reinventing ourselves, we leaned more deeply into ourselves?

This year I invite you to harness the collective energy around changing into a fresh new year by settling deeper into the infinite potential that already exists nestled inside yourself.

How to best do this?

First of all settle down somewhere quiet where you can grab a few moments undisturbed, with a pen and paper. Clear your mind of any thoughts that maybe circling for your attention. Take some deep breaths and begin to write out what are your core principals. These principals are at the very centre of your belief system. They are what everything in your life revolves around. They are the ethics you hold, the things that bring you deep peace and joy, the things that lights you up.

For example; my core principals are:

SPIRIT: I need to spend time daily in ritual and communing and weaving magic with nature and divinity all around me. It also requires me to have an open mind , a playful outlook and a sense of humour!

BEAUTY: For me to be functioning at my best, I love to find joy in my environment. Being surrounded by objects, colours, nature and art that inspires me and delights my senses helps me to feel a sense of calm, creativity and mental wellbeing. Having a high regard for beauty also helps me to nurture others by creating an oasis of calm and comfort that I can share.

REVERENCE: I believe in respect and reverence for all living beings. This includes reverence for myself and the way I nurture myself with food, water, movement and rest; and the way I interact with my environment and with community members.

KNOWLEDGE: For me knowledge gives us options, it also gives us unlimited ways to experience each other and new perspectives. It is key to an open and willing mind.

So with your core principals mapped out, jot down the ways your current lifestyle and habits may not quite be in alignment with your principals. Next jot down a few easy ways you could make tweaks to bring about alignment.

Now the fun part, start to design your days in a way that supports you to bring about these changes and become more aligned! I will share a few examples of what I mean.

When I carried out the above exercise I realised I was really excelling in the areas of SPIRIT and BEAUTY. So no changes or tweaks were necessary there, I could continue weaving what was working into my daily routines. However I was really letting myself down when it came to the areas of REVERENCE and KNOWLEDGE.

Any easy tweak to bring more alignment in the area of KNOWLEDGE was to schedule time in my day to spend an hour reading instead of zoning out in front of the TV. Listening to podcasts whilst I cooked dinner and making time to resume my Celtic Studies, which I had let slide. I also committed to daily journaling about my Spiritual practice, as a way for me to get to no myself more deeply and to release and heal the shame Id always felt around who I was and what I believed.

In the area of REVERENCE, I realised I wasn’t honouring my health in the way I am capable. So I made some easy changes. I tweaked my routine to include daily movement, not anything crazy, just 20 minutes each day mindfully engaging my body in some form of movement. I also purchased a water filtration system, as brain fog is something I often struggle with and I believe access to remineralised and reenergised water could be key in countering this. I also stocked up on my supplements and recommitted to daily meditation.

On the surface these tweaks aren’t anything major. They don’t involve any great commitments of time, energy or money and they don’t involve me completely overhauling my life. And there, in the simplicity of it lies the key to success.

These changes are small, they are manageable and therefore I will be able to stick with them. These tweaks don’t ask me to take away or deprive me of anything, in fact they do the opposite, they play up to my interests and strengths; and eventually they will lead to me reaping the reward of feeling more balanced and aligned. Of me feeling more like ME.

So I invite you to give this exercise a try. Play up to YOUR strengths, lean into the core principals of who YOU are and become the most aligned version of YOU. Because the world needs more of your unique magic!