The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. ~G.K. Chesterton
As we gaze out upon the
landscape of the New Year, this quotation stimulates some intriguing
contemplation. Instead of it simply being
the start of another calendar filled with 365 days, is the purpose of the “New”
year to make ourselves “New?” Can the
birth of this year bring about a “new” way of sensing our lives, interacting
with others and experiencing our decisions?
Last year, as I welcomed
2013 in this annual letter, I wrote about “potential” and moving from defining
ourselves based on our flaws, but rather seizing the opportunity to realize our
possibilities. The message in the 2014
letter expands this idea…not merely to consider your possibilities, but
practice NEW ways of living, sensing and being in your life.
It is easy to be
comfortably entrenched in the sameness of how we feel, and manage, our daily
lives. We may pass the ocean on our way
to get groceries without smelling the salty air or marveling at the enormity of
the sea. There doesn’t seem to be much time
to smell the roses (or the salt) nor stare at the waves crashing against the
sand due to multiple “moving parts” we keep in motion: kids, sports, meals,
career, households, tending to aging parents, etc. If we sense anything, it is how exhausted our
souls, hearts, minds and yes, even feet, can become.
What if this IS the year
of starting afresh? A renewed soul to experience
gratitude, a revitalized nose to breathe deeply, energized feet to move
differently, widening our vision to see clearly, opening our ears to listen
more closely and strengthening our backbones to face challenges we may have
been avoiding.
As you consider personal
goal setting, take a moment to focus on one, or more, of these areas to be
renewed and start afresh. For example,
if you have been struggling with stating the truth to someone in your life, is
the goal to explore how to strengthen your backbone? If you have been lonely for a loving
relationship, is the goal to open your eyes, and heart, to see other dimensions
of possible mates? And if you have been
feeling mundane and without challenge, is the goal to set your feet on a new
path?
Here’s sending you wishes
for a year filled with refreshing the senses, taking leaps with new feet,
empowered backbones and renewed fulfillment of hearts and souls.
