"Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children; to remember the weaknesses on loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and to ask yourself if you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open? Are you willing to do these things for a day?"
Henry Van Dyke
New Year's Eve is a time for assessment and projection. It is when we scan our past activities and evaluate how we have treated others as well as ourselves. Have we been motivated by selfish greed or spreading radiance towards others? What dreams have we lost, feelings repressed, and stepped away from our true nature?
No lists need to be made on this eve of the new year. Just sit and open our heart to all that we yearn to be. In this very moment, can we fill ourselves with love and be moved into a healthy direction? Can we imagine our feet sinking into rich soil and our arms lifting up to the Divine? If this connection can be made in this moment, we can continue to fill moments every day rather than having a false agenda that in time fades away.
For the new year, claim one word, just one and hold it dear to the heart. We will be far more successful by managing one simple thing: compassion, generosity, kindness, self-respect, honor, or extended love. Claim it, be it, and live it! Blessings for the journey about to begin.
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