Entering the New Year with Intention
As 2022 draws to a close, I took some time this morning to reflect, as many do.
I was drawn to my word for next year, which seemed to come to me, rather than me searching for it.
At the start of each yoga practice I’ve done in the past month, the instructor asks us to create an intention. Before my mind even has a chance to grasp at anything, the same two simple words show up in my mind’s eye.
BE HERE.
And when I wondered what my word is going to be for 2023, the same sense of rapid clarity came to me.
BE HERE.
Seems simple enough to say, but to be present, to be grounded, to stay in whatever is happening isn’t always a walk in the park, even when you’re walking in the park.
This short phrase BE HERE has even more meaning to me given our year of adventure drawing to a close.
Our year of adventure has ended, but isn’t done.
One year ago, on this very day, we were packing up everything we’d need into our Honda Fit, including our dog, ready to head into 356 days of unknown.
We left our home, job, school, and community. We knew we wanted to stay in places where we could play outdoors, with intentions of living simply and deepening our family connection.
That we did.
It’s been an incredible journey exploring ski towns, mountain biking towns, as far north as The Yukon, and as far south as Costa Rica.
And now, here we are one year later, and we’ve landed in a new town with a new job, a new school, and a new community.
Over the next year and a half, we can stretch our legs out, settle in, and explore the area.
So, the phrase BE HERE helps me know that we can stay here, in one place for a while.
We are going from adventure + unknown + moving about… to… grounded + stable + fresh start.
I am celebrating all that we have done this past year, all the places we’ve traveled to, all the amazing friends we met, all the trust we put into being shown where to move next, all the simpleness that was more than enough, all the playing, and all the support we received.
All of it.
We took ‘BE HERE’ on the road, and now we get to bring it into our lives in a new way as we cozy up in the Okanagan area of British Columbia.
If you like watching journeys unfold in pictures, be sure to check my Instagram page. I keep rolling the film out there…
Letting go as the clock strikes midnight
This process of reflection also has me releasing things from this past year that no longer serve me.
One particular flavour of this is letting go of needing to control things. I’ve come a long way with this, and yet still feel like I have a long way to go.
I have a sticker on the back of my phone that reminds me of this every time I see it: “I am releasing my need for control.”
I amplified this energetic release of ‘needing to control things’ with a little help from Spirit: a guided cleanse from Mother Earth.
If you wish to try this too, follow along:
Settle into your body.
Feel your feet on the ground.
Ask Mother Earth to come into your body, filling you with the essence of dirt and soil.
Ask her to soak up anything you don’t need any longer.
Then let it all release.
She can take it all back, and transform it like compost.
What did this dirt cleanse feel like for you?
Anything you’d like to celebrate from the past year?
Do you have any intentions or words for the coming year?
Care to share any part of your experience?
Comment below. Or send me an email.
I’d love to hear from you.
