What Will I Take Into 2012

What Will I Take Into
2012?

Today I was reading a Garfield comic strip in which Garfield was telling Liz all his resolutions for the new year 2012.  Of course after she walked away, he stated that he needed to curb his excessive lying.  As I read that, I realized just how true Garfield's statement was to most people.

Most everyone it seems is worried about setting resolutions that seem great when they do it, but they never fully follow through.  There are the resolutions of exercising and losing weight which probably top the list.  There are the resolutions of spending more time with family, friends and enjoying life.  I'm sure there are plenty of resolutions to earn more money, pay off credit card debt and take a vacation.

Yet, after the first few days, weeks or maybe months, everyone seems to forget all about these things.  The importance of them take a back seat to life while the media makes sensational stories about not following through on our New Year's Resolutions.  We feel bad and we promise mid way through the year to reorient our self with the resolutions we made on New Years.  By the end of the year, we have all but forgotten what these resolutions were.


For me this year, I'm not going to even think about resolutions.  Yes, I will reflect upon my life because it is a good marking point in time to do this.  I don't plan on following along lock step with everyone else and promising something that I most likely will not deliver on.  There is too much of these empty promises these days for humans.

Instead, I'm going to focus on what I want to leave behind in 2011 and what I wish to not carry forward into 2012.  I'm making my list of things that I feel no longer serve me and it is time to say goodbye to these old friends.  Maybe each of these things had a purpose and they helped get me to 2012, but now it is time to evaluate them and choose what I will take with me into 2012.

If we are really honest with ourselves, we will see that there are things we need to let go of in our life and release.  We often follow the illusion that because they were once valid for our life, that we must maintain them for the rest of our days.  We state that we have always done this, so this makes it true for the years ahead.  Yet, if we were honest, we would see that we are fooling ourselves.

So, try something different this year.  Instead of making resolutions that you most likely will forget about, try making a list of all the things that you no longer need in your life.  Then, take a meditative moment and say good bye to them.  Wish them farewell and thank them for their service to you.  Tell them that you no longer have need for their services.

See, when we release and let go of things in our life, we give more room to bring in new experiences that we can enjoy.  These new experiences will help take us into 2012 and beyond with greater awareness, consciousness and growth.  Life isn't about hoping for things to happen, but letting go and releasing the things we no longer need.


Related Blog Posts:
1)  For The New Year, Focus On Our Dreams (Jan 1, 2009)
2)  Forgiveness And Letting Go (Oct 12, 2011)

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