It’s a new year and with anything new we have the opportunity to create our life in a way that has us smiling a little bit more along the way. And, there’s also the piece of creating from new beginnings that doesn’t feel so soft, but feels rather difficult. Transformation feels like that. It’s enticing. It’s messy. It’s raw. Most of the time it doesn’t feel good. On the other side of it though, we will find our smile again, but not just an everyday smile, an awesomesauce smile.
I was in the middle of a client session the other day when I said frankly (with a smile of course), “I promise transformation not happiness!” My client and I were laughing uncontrollably at the stark honesty of this statement. I was giving her a private yoga\mindfulness\dharma talk session on New Year’s Day and our theme was all about beginnings. As David Whyte reminds us about beginnings, “Beginning well or beginning poorly, what is important is simply to begin (emphasis added), but the ability to make a good beginning is also an art form.”
So, it was funny, but painfully true. And yet, in all that we seek out there, it really is only one step away to the mother load of abundance right here inside – that intangible space we often refer to with much admiration, longing, and curiosity. In order to tap into that space on the inside though we must face a painful recognition. That recognition is how we sabotage our ability to create successful new beginnings in whatever we decide to do.
The ideas are fun and sometimes they flow with ease. Putting the ideas into action is the hard part. Often times we are enticed by the idea…well, until it gets messy. At this point the idea has lost its buzz and it doesn’t feel so happy. However, if we keep pushing through, this is where the magic happens. So, what I’m saying here is if you set a new beginning in this new year, take minuscule baby steps or giant steps or some grade of step in between.
The important thing is once you make your plan stick to it no matter what. Accept the not so good feelings and keep rolling with the punches. The transformational process (where true beginnings start) is not supposed to feel great all the time, but it will feel pretty awesomesauce on the flip side.
As Whyte reminds us, the process is an art form. Sometimes to begin is to begin again. Enjoy your new beginning and, the magical, often times messy process of transformation. Happy new beginnings in 2018!
Om Shanti Om ~ Athea
