Happy New Year! Well, almost but I thought I should pen this while the sun was still in the sky. 2017 has been a rough ride for many of us. There has been a lot of death and destruction this year.
As I look ahead, I wish I could say that on the global scale things will be better. I think we still have quite a bit of hard times in front of us before we come out the other side. Right now we are in the forge and the forces arrayed against us will hopefully make us stronger, but if we don't handle ourselves well we are just as likely to break under the strain. What will make the difference is how we support each other in our challenges. The weight of the past is heavy and we are going to be called to set it down or be crushed by it. We will have enough to carry into the future without also ferrying our regret along.
"If only....", I hear you say. Truthfully I say it or at least think it too. If only this had gone right, if only I hadn't gotten into that relationship, if only that plan had worked out, if only I had been ready for what was coming. If only, is a phrase that will drive you mad, if only you let it. When you look at things beyond emotion (not without, beyond) and see the greater story and interlinking of causality, regret becomes more difficult to indulge. The absolute worst situations in my life led me to develop the skills and tools I use for myself and my clients. When one difficulty turned me away from my plans it thrust me in the path of something else I hadn't even thought of trying. The only thing I can regret is that I had to be the sort of person to learn things the hard way.
Regret is a weighty burden to carry. I can't keep carrying it if I want to carry the seeds of what I want to create in my life. I have a lot to bring about in the coming year, and that will take energy and focus. If my attention is constantly pulled behind, lamenting how things should have been, I won't have the stamina to bring out the changes I need to create the life I deserve. I was recently listening to a podcast (it helps me enjoy cleaning) that used the initials WTF except this time the letters stood for Where is the Future? Well the future is in us, we carry it. It can either be a regurgitation of past regrets or it can be informed by lessons learned.
Why am I telling you this? Well I know all of you are carrying things down the road that you just don't need or are downright hurtful to you. The picture above was from my final ceremony of 2017. The focus of that one was to leave behind anything that would hold us back in the new year. I suggest you make a similar plea to whatever powers you believe in to help you do the same. Think of what dreams you wish to build in the year, and see what you must leave behind. Sometimes it is as simple as dwelling upon an old hurt. Sometimes you may have to expend a bit more effort to jettison the junk of yesteryears. It's well worth it though. So in this time of the fading year I wish you freedom from regret and good cheer.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
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