Looking Higher...

I admit I've always been kind of a humbug about New Year's Eve.  Can you be a humbug post-Christmas?  Big deal, another trip around the sun!  Why such celebration, such excess on New Year's Eve?  It has always seemed strange to me.  My husband and I hardly ever do anything to celebrate or even stay up to witness the New Year's coming.  At the turning of the millenium I had food poisoning and fell asleep!  Bah humbug! 

Saturday night is our usual movie night.  So last night, perhaps because it was New Year's eve, I bought a few more goodies than usual.  We watched the 1930's Treasure Island and had chicken dinner and all manner of ice cream and chocolate after dinner!  We LOVED the movie and had fun.  We stayed up a little too late, the boys went to bed exhausted and husband and I had some much needed time together. 

It occurs to me now though that New Year's Eve, less of a time of excess and watching years pass, is a time of "starting fresh" as my Mom says.  In that way it can be a true spiritual renewal.  Setting our minds to higher goals and emracing all the good and potential of good in our lives.  I'm not talking about setting that all important goal to lose weight in the new year (even though I wouldn't mind dropping a few), or making strict or inflexible resolutions that we then drop after a week. Instead, to simply look at our intentions, purifying them, lifting them up a little higher.  Knowing moment by moment we will attain them & knowing that momentary failure does not necessitate giving up!

In that light after many years of ignoring New Year's Eve and resolutions, I set forth a few intentions for this hopeful beginning of the new year.

My Intentions...

~ To find space every day for spiritual growth.  Praying moment to moment or on my feet counts!
~ To look & listen every day for the balance that is already present.
~ To love fully & be in the moment with my kids, family & friends, appreciating Now.
~ To be gentle with myself. Harsh critic be gone, she was never me.
~ To create more space for family time.
~ To give up stressing about money or anything... &
~ To know truly for me and others that there is never a moment that we aren't guided, loved and cared for.

These are a few blog posts on New Year's that I love!  Cedar Ring Mama's, "Brand New" and Little Acorn Learning, "New Year's Affirmations". 

What are your intentions this year?