I have been doing a lot of thinking about what the theme for this year would be. No, I don’t sit around and do this every year, but this year has been somewhat different. For one thing I am about to sell everything I have and only take back across country what will fit in my car for the second time this year! Two my partner lost a friend of 28yrs to cancer and three, the world seems to be in a bit of a funk. So, through the power of reduction, I am giving this year the theme of love and lessons. I know the year is not yet over, however I think enough of it has passed to start reflecting on what I have learned from the challengers this year has bought my way.
It seems that no matter where you turn at the moment the word loss is on most peoples lips. They have lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their life savings, or in our case lost someone special in their lives. The world in general is learning the lesson of impermanence this year. Nothing stays the same and change will happen either with you or without you or around you. For me in particular it truly has been a reflective year, a year where I have had no choice but to get to the heart of my own personal baggage and clean it out. This in all honesty is not something new for me. Every time a major shift happens in my life I experience a lot of material loss. This is then counteracted by a huge material gain. It is almost like the universe tells me that nothing I have is going to serve me anymore. That I have moved beyond the collection of possessions I currently have and soon will be surrounded by things that vibrate with where I am now. Without fail this is how my life plays out.
But not everyone can move and shift and give up things the way I have learnt to do. It’s very easy to become attached to our possessions; we allow our things to embody who we are. And in times of great loss, especially loss of loved ones, we cling to places and things that hold the most memories of the person or thing we have lost.
As I once again pack to move and sort through all the material objects that I have once again gathered, I notice how hard it is to emotionally detach from that feeling of security that our homes and possessions give us. Even though I know that it can all easily be replaced that feeling of security and belonging is one that takes a little longer to re-adjust. This is where the love part of the theme comes in. Love of self, love of life and love of change allow us to walk this path of loss a lot easier. We must have faith that what happens to us now is a catalyst for where we can go in our future. Love and let god, I think the saying is. Sometimes it is easy to think that our world is ending, when in reality it is only just beginning. We must loose in order to gain; we must make room in order to bring something else into our lives. A cycle must end before another can begin, and so on and so on.
So I thank the lessons of this year for I see I am coming to an end of a cycle and now only bigger and better things await me. I have grown and now my surroundings must grow as well. My outer must reflect my inner and therefore things that no longer vibrate with me serve me no longer. I am looking forward to new beginnings and excited to see what this new stage in my life has in store for me. I will not cling to any of the negative of this year and I shall only carry with me the lessons and the love.
