“Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many –not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” ~Charles Dickens
Dear Universe,
As you are well aware, the end of the year keeps me busy.
Busy preparing for all my New Year’s traditions!
Yes, there are specific clothes to wear, food to eat and rituals to practice. I take it all quite seriously and plan on referring back to my entry from last year to remember them all. If you are looking for some good luck traditions from all over the world, you should too.
But before we dive into 2014 with all the positive practices we have time for, I think it’s imperative to give 2013 a proper goodbye.
Whether it was a great year or not your finest, take some time to reflect on the last twelve months. The chances are the year was filled with highs and lows, triumphs and tears, laughter and loss.
Too often we focus on all the negative things that happened though, and forget to celebrate the victories—no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they are.
I think before I start to look too far ahead with all my hopes, plans, wishes, visualizations, mantras and dreams for 2014, I want to take some time to bid a fond farewell to 2013 and give thanks for all the experiences that came my way.
I plan on writing a list of all the positive things that occurred during 2013. And I won’t glaze over or pretend that the low moments didn’t happen. Instead of crying over tears already shed, now that some time has passed, I plan on reflecting and looking to see what positives came from the experiences.
Because typically in those low moments it’s hard to see anything of value, but hindsight always brings the lesson, explanation or connects a few dots, if you are willing to look hard enough.
So what will your Fond Farewell list contain? Is it a new job? A new love? Or moving on from a negative relationship? Is it that you tried something new? Traveled somewhere you always wanted to go? Accomplished something meaningful? Or maybe worked towards a goal you’ve dreamed about?
Or was it simply surviving through something terrible, that you didn’t think you could make it through? Because that definitely counts too. In fact, I say count it triple.
Maybe some of 2013 will carry over into the New Year. But when you work on your list, really try and see what you want to leave behind, and what you don’t want—or need—to bring with you in 2014.
Our past always stays with us, but I think making the list is a good outlet to reflect in a positive manner. It’s a way to let you decide how you want to remember the year and your experiences.
Don’t let the circumstances and happenings of the past year define you or your future.
Only you can do that.
Much Gratitude,
A
