The New Year is Up and Running

I know. The turning of the New Year is already in full swing. People already wrote about their New Year's resolutions, intentions, hopes, dreams, etc., etc., etc.

I know. I'm a week late. But that's ok. I'm not one who turns myself over to the conventional New Year's Resolution where quantifiable gains are of focus. You know what I'm talking about: lose 25 pounds in three minutes, be published in a prestigious literary magazine five times over, schedule regular colonic treatments in addition to quarterly liquid cleanses, create a 5 year plan within the first trimester of this year...

Still, there is something undoubtedly significant about the changing of the year - a concrete, in your face moment in time to symbolize the cyclical nature of life and beyond. I recently read a 12/31 post from Blogickal (post title "Three Big Rocks") that offered a nice perspective through which to consider the New Year in conjunction with personal evolution. So many juicy morsels in this post, some of which the author picked up from other resources and kindly passed along.

Among these morsels are some excellent questions to facilitate self-inquiry. Among them are (borrowed from Celtic Devotional by Cailtin Matthews):

- What am I endeavoring to manifest now in my life?
- How can I change my thought patterns to empower my goals?
- What old connections can I release now, for my highest good?
- What wisdom is seeking to reveal itself to me at this time?
- What new idea has seeded itself this winter, and how can I best nurture it to fruition, as the Earth nurtures her seeds?
- What are the imprisoning fears that I feel ready to release?
- What part of me will awaken as the rebirth of Spring arrives?
- How can I best focus on my blessings this season?
- How can I turn negatives into positives?
- How can I make the best use of this lifetime?

My initial intention was to repost these questions with my own answers (pertaining to myself of course), but in reading them again I visualize each as stand alone writing topics in their own right. One idea I have in terms of integrating this into developing a spiritual practice is to meditate on each question for a week and then write of what transpires.

For now though, I share these inspiring thoughts with anyone out there who happens to stumble into my neck of the blogosphere.