How to clarify our desires in the New Year?

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More often than not, some of our most important desires get buried in the busyness of everyday life and the pressure of immediate productivity. With more time to reflect around the holidays and with the New Year, our true longings often resurface and come out.

We may be, however, at a different stage on the spectrum of being clear on what they are at this time. If, for example, we are not feeling a strong calling then we are probably not in touch with our true priorities. 
If so, this is a great time to engage in a process to put our key desires in the driver's seat of our life. Here are a few steps I found especially helpful for my patients and myself, that I hope will be beneficial to you:

A. Clarifying process
While New Year’s resolutions are well-known, if we want them to stick, we first need to clear the way to give them a strong foundation! 
For tips about clearing your physical space see my previous article: Being home 

Let’s take advantage of the quieter time of winter to reflect and assess on what has or hasn’t been working in our lives, especially in terms of habits and relationships. This clarification gives us the chance to take back our power in making better choices forward. Of course, these can be complex situations. And so here are some questions to start with:
Have we given it our best, genuine effort? If not, what is in the way of us giving it our best effort? Can we commit for a given time to give it our best effort? If we have: what can we see is in the way in the given situation? Is there anything more we can do?
If we assess that there is absolutely nothing more we can do, then it is time to release it. Either way, this clarification process is highly empowering for us and everyone involved when it is done with compassion and genuine intention.

B. Attending to our True Desires 
Once we have gained clarity on what we do want to keep, to try or to release, we can focus on our desires with all the care and patience new seeds require:

• Planting your seeds in fresh soil for the New Year to come!
  Just as sowing seeds in winter is an old technique used worldwide. where the seed lies dormant before sprouting in the spring, we can make the most of hibernation and let our true desires emerge and take root in fresh soil.
  
  “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
  - Robert Louis Stevenson
  
  
• Focus and nurturing
  "What you give your attention to, grows."
  - Deepak Chopra.
  
  Putting all our attention on what we desire is key especially if we are taking on something new. Just like different plants need different kinds of watering and exposure to sun, we have to pay close attention to what is required for every chosen desire to take root in our life:
  
  Whether it is about rejuvenating our health and well-being, deepening our relationships, shifting gears in our career, making space for our own creative expression, it all requires a special kind of care and nurturing!

What will it be for you? I am looking forward to hearing about it!
“What blooms from beautiful seeds of thought becomes a symphony of colorful abundance.”
- Jazz Feylynn
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