We don’t need to wait until a new year for new beginnings, although it’s a nice excuse to do so. Just like we don’t need to wait until Christmas or someone’s birthday to give them a gift. If anything I feel like gift-giving and new beginnings hold more meaning if they are done when the time is right.
For some, 2021 was a difficult year, filled with challenges, maybe a sense of fear, perhaps viewing the chaos in the world with utter disbelief. For others, it was the best year ever, a time for profound growth and expansion. I was somewhere in the middle. I kept looking at the news and wondering if things could get any weirder. But I also found growth through silence and introspection.
I keep saying during my time on a quiet out island here in The Bahamas, that I was cocooning. Towards the end of this year, I stepped out of my hibernation and back into the world. It just so happens that I’m looking at a new beginning as it coincides with the new year – a new opportunity to re-establish myself in my physical community and connect with my spiritual community from afar.
So what do new beginnings look like? And how do we honor them? If you ever watched Bridget Jones’s Diary (one of my favorites back in my university days), she buys herself a journal (a diary, I suppose) as part of her new beginning. And at the end of the film - spoiler alert - Marc Darcy in all his romantic adorableness buys her another diary for a fresh start. A new beginning could be as simple as resolving to keep track of what you eat, what you think, your habits, routines, insights, and dreams.
New beginnings can also entail burning things. It’s a great way to start anew. Hence bonfires on New Year’s Eve. It’s a thing. I make it a thing. Or ritualistic fire ceremonies. Or burning your ex-boyfriend’s CD collection. Did I just say CD collection? Hello 90’s. Maybe just start with writing down some intentions you want to let go of and putting them in the fire.
I believe it’s important to honor new beginnings, whether it’s moving to a new house (carrying your beloved over the threshold), buying a boat (smashing champagne on the bow - who came up with that one?? A waste of perfectly good bubbly), moving on from a toxic relationship (smudging the shit out of yourself and any rooms, vehicles, or small countries that person came into contact with), or the death of a loved one (ever been to an Irish wake?).
Throughout the world, cultures, and traditions honor transitions. El Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead in Mexico, celebrates those who have transitioned over to the other side. Ancient Babylonians of Mesopotamia celebrated the first new moon after the vernal equinox as an honoring of the rebirth of the natural world. (We have an upcoming new moon on January 2nd). Shiva, in Hinduism, is known as ‘The Destroyer’ and is responsible for transformation. We think of a “destroyer” as something potentially bad. Destruction usually equals chaos. Well, yes. But sometimes destruction is the only way to move forward, especially if there is stuck or stagnant energy.
Look at the state of the world right now. Look where we’ve been headed. A slow-moving train wreck of destroying our planet through pollution, plastic, and degradation of ecosystems. If the world wasn’t upside down right now, I’d honestly be worried. As much as I am concerned about the direction that our governments are driving us in, I would be more concerned if we stayed on the path of the “status quo,” ignoring the fact that we are depleting the oceans while continuing to gorge ourselves on tuna sushi rolls.
Maybe you as an individual are looking at a new beginning as we edge towards 2022, fantastic if you are, but I think most importantly, our planet and its inhabitants are looking at a new beginning. I invite you to ask yourself, what does a new beginning for Earth look like? Just go all out, no-holds-barred, what does your perfect reality look like? Does it include sustainable and biodiverse farming techniques? Tribal-type communities? Is it instant transportation through portals or some spaceship-type vehicle through the ether? (I would LOVE not to have to deal with TSA anymore). Moving from hate, greed, and anger towards love, gratitude, compassion? Is it telepathy, astral travel, invisibility, expanding human consciousness? Is it being able to transport around like Mary Poppins with the push of an umbrella button? Or perhaps fitting the entire contents of your house in one carpetbag? (It would certainly minimize the stresses of moving).
Whatever wild reality you can come up with, meditate on that. Spare no expenses with your imagination. The trick is, you have to believe in it. I hold my vision in my mind and in my heart every day. I don’t falter, I don’t doubt it will come to fruition at some point in the linear future. Human thoughts are much more powerful than we realize. We are manifesting all the time, although usually through subconscious thought patterns that have been molded by our parents, our schools, and society. I invite you to break out of your box of conformity. Create your reality. Dream your ideal world into being. 2022 is the year.
All the best for a prosperous start to 2022.
