Resolutions and a New Year
written by David McCallum
originally posted January 11, 2024
Photo by Kari Bjorn Photography on Unsplash
“I will not let my resolutions
Mutate to form
A tyranny of self —
I cannot scold myself
Into a gentle life”
Perhaps you’ve arrived at the start of this New Year full of expectancy and hope. Or, perhaps you look out on the year ahead with a sense of heaviness in your heart and mind. Maybe, though, you have a constellation of many parts showing up within you. To get a sense of what is going on within your internal system, I invite you to take a moment and breathe. (Note: please use the 4-7-8 breathing exercise and heart meditation linked at the bottom of this post as a guide for this process.)
What comes into your awareness as you do so?
Is there a particular thought or emotion?
What are they communicating to you as you tune into them?
As you slow down, you may be surprised by what you learn from the parts that show up for you. Some of them may be trying to motivate you to do something (e.g. establish a new routine to improve your health and wellness), and others may be fearful about what the New Year may hold. Know that they are all welcome, and they all play an important role within your system.
I would encourage you with this: Maybe, if anything, your New Year’s resolution can be to try softer. What sort of difference might that make for you? What sort of space may open up within your system? This is a gentle path marked with compassion and curiosity, instead of a harsh path marked with shaming and agendas. Now, I take a moment to beam Self energy to you and the parts of your internal systems. May they continue to experience the healing they have so longed for in new and creative ways.
