Welcome to the New Now

2010-wideHappy New Year!

However you chose to celebrate (or not) the closing of 2009, I have no doubt that it was just right.

And now we find ourselves in a new year. Most of us recognize this New Year morning as a clean slate, a fresh start, and an opportunity to consciously step into the next chapter of our life.

When I awoke this morning to the sound of rain I took a few moments to give thanks for the challenges I faced in 2009. It may seem strange to give thanks for the challenges but it is when we face the challenges that we awaken our power and empower our gifts. So I offered thanks to those challenges and I gently allowed them to dissolve into the year that has now become history.

Why, I wonder, does it usually take a major external transition such as the turning of the year or the celebration of our birth for us to consciously let go of the past and set our intentions for the future?

What prevents us from doing that every morning when we arise? Indeed, what prevents us from doing so in every moment?

For every moment is truly a new now. In theory, we need not carry anything from the past into our present. And yet, mostly, that’s exactly what we choose to do.

Is it just habit? Is it just poor “emotional hygiene?” After all, we bathe on a regular basis to wash off the dirt of the past off our physical bodies. Why don’t we “bathe” our emotional bodies with the same regularity?

It seems to me that we actually have it backwards: Most of us bathe our physical bodies too much and our emotional bodies not nearly enough.

So as we move into 2010, as we move into this glorious new NOW and THIS beautiful new NOW, and THIS mysterious new NOW… perhaps an intention could be to bathe your emotional body at least as often as your physical body. When you take a shower, why not take a moment to imagine that you are also cleansing your inner being? Why not feel your soul being cleansed, the accumulated dirt and grime being washed away?

Welcome to your New Now! May you truly celebrate and enjoy all of your NOWs in this New Year.

Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Personal Growth, life hacks