Friends,
December is still here. Within the excitement, enticement, and ecstasy of the season come deep feelings of joy, empathy, and kindness. Even as I write these words, I can see Santa smiling, that twinkle in his eyes saying, “Well received.” For wasn’t this what he actually intended to gift?
Now, a sincere wish to all: Let us carry these feelings into the New Year. This is a gift for everyone. Please, welcome a truly new year, and not just an extension of the previous one. As this year slips away, hold on to the one coming. Be fully in it, so that you can carry its beautiful essence forward.
Enjoy the festive feel and keep it alive, in both sorrow and cheer. For the essence of true living is to be in the now and here. Even as this year prepares to depart, live in it. Its days are numbered, but have you considered why the year ends in joy and cheer? It teaches us that endings are meant to be cheerful, so that new beginnings can start with joy.
Acknowledge the cheer. Let go of the “huff and grunt,” the painful doses, and the feeling of an ending “off-season.” Have these pains and sufferings not been reason enough to dampen the joy of a new season? You are right—there were reasons to whimper and cry, or to feel your heart burn in the “hot water” crevices that came your way. Sometimes the pain was so loud you didn’t notice the cool breeze sent as a balm to your burns.
I invite you to acknowledge both: the pains and the gains, the sorrow and the cheer. In this balance, as we enter the new year, we live each moment, leadingustoward a new world where our sorrows and our joys gracefully co-exist.
In that moment of grace, there is no “you” or “me.” Undivided, we stand to accept, acknowledge, and know that grace. Wisdom flourishes here, converting pain into peaceful bliss. These are the only moments we truly experience as we pass from year to year, and eventually, into the afterlife.
Happy New Year.
DeepSweep 