During the one short week between Christmas and New Years, you are constantly making choices whether you know it or not. Will you continue to stuff yourself with chocolate and pumpkin pie? Will you lose sleep at night due to heartburn and indigestion?
Have you previously been, and are you currently, preoccupied with dollars and cents, acquisitions and losses? Will you chase after post-Christmas bargains with the zeal that hounded you earlier to bag the biggest and best Christmas presents?
Got big plans for New Year's Eve? Places to go, parties you're planning to be the life of?
Or will you give your body and soul a rest, and contemplate the newness of the coming year?
Granted, the positioning of the new year may seem pretty arbitrary. January first is not the only New Year's Day that is observed on the planet. But arbitrary or not, the end of an old year, and the beginning of a brand new one is as good a reason as any, and better than most, for reflection.
And arbitrary date or not, such reflections are age-old traditions encouraged by every culture worth its salt. Let the wisdom of the ages insinuate itself into your fast-paced life and ... breathe.
Feels weird? That's only because you're not used to it. This actually suggests that it's even more important that you let yourself become more familiar with this practice to avoid burning out before this new year starts, let alone before it comes to an end.
What has this past year been for you? What has been accomplished? What has changed, how have you grown? Are you closer to what you want to be, or have you possibly moved further from it without realizing it?
When you look through the mists, wondering at the year yet to come, what are your hopes? Have you given it any thought? If not, this is as good a time as any to begin.
Do you have things in your life that you appreciate? Take time to bask in them, re-acquaint yourself if you've become offhand about them due to pressures and distractions.
Are there people you love? Do they know it? Make sure that they do.
A New Year's Day is a great time to re-establish your balance, and to re-align yourself. It's a great opportunity to remember who you have been, who you are and who you'd like very much to become.
Visit Jody's website and blog at http://www.ncubator.ca and http://ncubator.ca/blogger