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It\u2019s a new year, which means many of us are setting goals and making plans for new beginnings in 2018. There is talk everywhere about New Year\u2019s Resolutions and making a fresh start. All good stuff!<\/p>\n
Where will we find room for newness: the new thoughts, behaviors, emotions and spiritual renewal, if we don\u2019t first consider what we need and (hopefully) are ready to let go of?<\/p>\n
The goodbyes, the endings; the losses are harder for us to willingly embrace and yet, these are a necessary part to the cycle of change. When you think about it, a new beginning really can\u2019t occur without the ending of something else. In the Christian tradition, this is represented by the parable of the seed that must fall to the ground before new life can spring up. Conversion or a dying to one way of living, one \u201cpath\u201d, is necessary before we can turn to embark on another. For those who practice Mindfulness Meditation, there is an invitation to turn from grasping at or rejecting parts of life as good or bad. Instead, we turn toward accepting all that is occurring in one\u2019s life simply because it is occurring. Those who have suffered loss of a marriage or through a loved one\u2019s death, must accept that reality before they can begin to start a new life. This turning from and letting go is a painful necessity before new life can begin.<\/p>\n
So, as you think about your New Year\u2019s Resolution, I encourage you to think about what you will let go of to clear space for your new goal. Go beyond identifying obstacles that might hamper you from achieving your goal. What ending is actually a part of the new beginning you are wanting to bring to fruition in 2018? Is there a habit you need to say goodbye to and even mourn the loss of? Is there a job or relationship that you have outgrown and need to release before you can find the job or relationship that will help you grow?
\nWelcome this process of letting go as a prerequisite step to beginning your new path. Beginning with \u201cclearing the brush\u201d, busyness and anxiety before you can till the soil and begin planting. If you do, you will find that new life begins to emerge.<\/p>\n