I have been reflecting on what it actually means to say Happy New Year. In this time of ongoing challenges that seem to be increasing. 2 years into a global pandemic, wow!! We as a collective have been through a lot. We all have our unique stories of how we managed through this time of great uncertainty, yet we have all had a shared experience.
At this point we have all been impacted by this pandemic, whether it is overwhelm with work, having to multi-task a job, teaching your kid algebra, isolation, illness, loss, disappointments, and all of the changes to life and what we have known to be “normal”.
On a personal note the challenges hit home the night before Christmas Eve. My daughter who is 20 years old decided to get together with some friends before she came home for the holiday. She called us the next morning in tears because one of the people she had been with tested positive for Co-vid, so due to her exposure she could not come home for Christmas. I was so sad and frustrated. I tried to think of any way to make it “ok” that she could come home, but to no avail.
Of course, this is a relatively inconsequential example of how the past couple of years have wreaked havoc on my life, but it made me realize how much my life and all of our lives have been impacted.
When we went into a lockdown in 2020 I recall talking with folks about maybe this is an opportunity to take a break from our lives as we know them, maybe an opportunity to slow down and see what it would be like to be with ourselves in a different way.
The constant hustling, the meetings, the driving, the commitments, all of the things we busy our lives with came to a screeching halt.. I certainly did not foresee this being apart of our lives 2 years later, yet here we are. And in addition, we are experiencing a deep polarization in our nation, in our communities, in our families. If you read the front page of any newspaper it is full of doom and gloom. We experience constant reminders that we are not safe and the world is not safe. This is so stressful to our emotional and physical beings.
We all have a story of how this time has shaped us into the present moment. If I were to ask you what has it brought up for you? What have you experienced?
It’s quite possible that somethings are much better, and somethings are in flux and somethings are worse.
I believe that right now we have the opportunity to start to pay attention to what is bubbling up to the surface in ourselves. To unravel and explore the subconscious programming that we have been patterning out. To unhook from the fear narrative. To experience what it’s like to be internally at ease. We are realizing that we cannot depend on the external to make us ok.. dee
The fear is what the collective programming is playing out. If each individual were to go within and see the conditioning, the modeling, the program that they had been taught, imagine the possibilities. If we can learn to start being more patient, kind, loving, and nurturing towards ourselves we might be better able to be more patient, kind, loving, and nurturing towards others. Realizing that everyone has their own narrative that they are subconsciously or consciously experiencing.
So How can we as the individual take it upon ourselves to cultivate the awareness of the present moment, with love and patience? Remembering that this is our lives were living and we get to choose how we embody it.
I recently did an intensive retreat that was focused on teaching people how to ground themselves in their future positive emotions instead of their past negative emotions. This is an overly simplified explanation of the workshop, yet it’s so very congruent with what I am sharing. If we understand that our conditioning is not personal.
Our conditioning is based on generations of lived experiences that have been patterned out into the present, then we can have agency to start creating a life that we want. Most humans want to experience the same basic things. Love, abundance, joy, ease, courage, passion, kindness, and gratitude. These qualities feel GOOD, right? Can this be a happy new year? I think so… let’s create this reality, let’s create it together.
With Love and light to you and yours,
Kristine
