Happy New Year 2016!
Wow 2015. You really gave us a run for our money.
This year my family experienced tremendous loss. My step-dad, the social and spiritual center of our family, passed-away after a year-long battle with cancer. We also said goodbye to our beloved family dog Cosmo. My 7 year-old also lost his favorite lovey and I know it’s not the same thing, but to him they’re all lumped together. Since infancy we’ve referred to him as the Buddha so it didn’t surprise me when he said, listing these losses, “Am I born just to lose all these people?” To which I replied, “No, you’re born to get to love all these people and to be loved by them more than you could ever imagine.”
More than in past years I’m reflecting on loss and gain. This year we did lose so much and yet we also gained – a new home, yet another awesome international community, a stronger sense of family, clarity about what matters most, a deeper sense that love always wins even if you have to be patient. More than in any year, I felt myself committing to being a great big ball of love. I can definitely say that that commitment has brought me a stronger sense of peace and ease in a year where happiness has run parallel with un-ending adjustment and heartache.
I did a lot of work with clients this year on mantra building. Quite out of nowhere I found my mantra for 2015 has been – Great big ball of love. Love everything. Love a lot. Don’t take no for an answer when it comes to love.
Love, love, love.
It’s working for me. I think I’m keeping it as 2016 rolls in.
So, as you start the New Year, I invite you to take some time to contemplate love in your own life. Here are a few questions to get you started:
Who do you most love in your daily life?
What can you do to demonstrate love each day to the people who you love most?
What do you love most about yourself? How can you better nurture that side of yourself?
When might you use love in response to a difficult situation instead of anger? How might you do that?
What activities do you most love that you’ve put to the side? How might you bring them back into your life?
Where can you cultivate a sense of acceptance when love seems too difficult?
What love do you think is waiting for more of your attention? When and how will you start to give it what it needs?
What will you do each day to love and accept yourself?
If those questions have got your craving more – check out my New Year 2014 list here and New Year 2015 list here.
And, of course – Happy, Happy New Year from World Tree Coaching!!
Wishing you the very best year full of incredible joy, boundless happiness, strength in the face of challenge, comfort in moments of loss and adventures at every turn.
Pssst –check out my Mantra Builder Program here. It’s only a little over a year old (and formerly called Foundation Focus), but with over ten years of counseling and coaching under my belt – I have to say it has become my favorite thing to do with clients. It’s quick, fun, enjoyable and (I’ve been told) life changing! Read reviews here.