Shine…

We made it to a new year and decade! Welcome 2020! A time for us to think about what we want and go after it . perhaps with abandon! A time to look at the vision we have for our life and figure out how to make it happen. Well, most people, I find, aren’t as focused on the larger vision but much more on the resolutions for some changes to habits. People vow to lose weight, workout, quit smoking, find a new job, etc.  According to a University of Scranton study, just 8% of people achieve their New Year resolutions, while another study showed that the failure rate among people who make resolutions is 80%! Not great statistics, especially if you are goal oriented. But we make them anyway. Or we become the people who say, “I don’t need any resolutions!” and move on, continuing to let life go by only focusing on the immediate goals in front of us or just getting through the day.

What if we wanted a larger vision for our life? What if we don’t want to just trudge through the day to day eyeing only the retirement we so wish for,  not knowing what that even looks like? What if we decide we want to really live it to its fullest? We want to soar in retirement, or live a life of purpose. We want more in our lives than wake up, eat out and sleep. A few years ago I changed my approach. I still have goals however they are broader so I can allow for them to be achieved a number of ways, in the timing that is meant to be and guided more by the intention and energy behind them. I think about the broader vision I have for how I want to live, what is important to me and what do I need to do this year to continue to move toward that vision. What I tend to keep more in front of me are the intentions and the larger vision versus the tangible goal. This seems to have a more positive effect and allows for evolution and change that is still aligned with where I want to be and how I want to live. Don’t get me wrong, there are still inspired actions that need to happen to reach the goals that align with the larger vision but I rely on the vision and intentions to keep me focused and clear, with actions able to change depending on circumstances, new information and divine intervention!

As I moved into 2020, I spent time thinking about my larger vision for my life, where I needed to focus my attention to get closer to it, and what, from 2019, was getting in my way, what did I need to leave behind.  We tend to carry energy suckers around with us, doubting our abilities and clouding our judgement. Very often we bring them into every year, not ever just saying “enough” I don’t want to be dragged down by these thoughts or behaviors and consciously letting them go. This year, my list of things to leave behind was longer than ever! I felt the need to really spell them out. Jealousy and envy topped my list, along with self-doubt, expectations, relationships that no longer serve my highest good, unrequited love, the sense that I am alone in this world, the need to explain myself, not asking for what I want and need, playing small and continuing to use food and unhealthy habits to fill voids. These are all energy suckers that don’t let me play at the higher frequency to manifest all that I want. Once the list is written, I read it out loud and burn it into the universe.

To better guide me for the year, I love to choose a word that embodies my intentions and keeps me focused. This year my word is Shine! I immediately began to think of two songs, “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” and “This Little Light of Mine”. And they both feel right! They both, fo me, speak of the light inside of us and shining brightly for those around us. With that context, I want to share my intentions with you to keep me accountable.

Shine from the inside – be healthy and fit, physically, emotionally, spiritually so my inner light can shine brightly.

Shine – my light as a beacon of and for love.

Shine my adventurous side – Try new things, go to new places.

Shine into the world – Through my belief in me and the universe, co-create amazing things.

So, shine on all, move into 2020 with gusto, leaving behind all that no longer serves you and jump into the larger vision for your life. No more playing small!!