The Sun Rises on another New Year
Goodbye 2022. A blessing for 2023.
Yesterday as the year came to a close, I fell into an unpleasant funk.
Like many of you, I just couldn’t drum up excitement. Since 2020, every year has just felt like a continuation. If 2020 was the hard winter months in a regular year, then I suppose 2021 represented Spring. 2022 was far more open for me, bringing me back to the improv stage and more… so that would make it ‘fun’ summer.
I do not want 2023 to feel like Autumn in this analogy.
Ushering out the past year, and welcoming the new has been a favorite celebration of mine for as far back as I can remember. As a little girl, I loved setting New Year’s Resolutions with my dad. We would sit at the table and set goals, and list out the exciting moments of the past year.
I spent New Year’s Eve Y2K in a cabin near Leadville, Colorado with friends. We had no running water or electricity there, so we figured if the world ended, we would just find out later. Obviously the world didn’t end, even as we emerged from the cabin both joyful, and ready for anything.
In 2004 I watched the sun rise over Busan, South Korea. The previous night having made the pilgrimage with millions of people to hear the bell ring in the center of the city. It was by far the largest celebration I’ve ever taken part in, and it was incredible.
When my husband and I married, the holiday took on new meaning, as my stepdaughter’s birthday is New Year’s day. Some years she spends it with us. Some years she spends it with her mom, but often we will bundle up and go down to the boat dock in our neighborhood, to watch the fireworks that the big houses set off over the river, as we wish her happy birthday.
While there have been celebrations big and small, I’ve always loved the idea that there is a day when the majority of the world collectively takes a breath and starts fresh.
But this New Year’s eve, my traditional reflection took on a gloomy feel. I had to dig deep for the gratitude that typically comes to me automatically. I felt reluctant to set goals. I complained to my husband that I had nothing I was excited about in 2023.
But last night we celebrated anyway.
And this morning, I woke up before the sunrise, another tradition of mine. No alarm needed… my body always knows when to get up to catch the first sunrise of the year. When I woke, my usual joyful anticipation of the new and fresh year woke up with me!
The sun is rising as I write this. I can’t see the normal pinks and oranges though, because the sky is filled with fog. This seems apt. No one knows the future.
Sure, I’m kicking off this year with a cleanse, and a few new systems for my business, but this year instead of goals… I’m finding myself with a wish list.
So instead of sharing with you a process for thinking through your own goals, explaining why I’m doing a cleanse (and whether or not I think you should do one too), or telling you how to evaluate the lessons from the previous year as you kick off the new one…
This year I simply share my wishes with you.
A Blessing on 2023
May this year be better than the last
May 2023 feed your creativity
May she shower abundance on you
May she help you build rewarding relationships
May she sooth your lingering sorrows from the years we have journeyed through
May she open her arms and welcome you to the best and most wonderful things life on planet earth has to share
May it be a very happy New Year for you and for yours.Drop me a line!
What’s something you learned in 2022? How are you feeling about 2023? What’s your favorite New Year tradition?
Starting something new? I want to hear all about it!
