For years now, my good friend, Priyanka and I have had a beautiful tradition of closing a calendar year together and talking about our year ahead. We get together one evening in December, and it’s an evening to remember. It’s an evening of laughter, of joy, of pain, of forgiveness, of compassion and an evening of hope.
Another friend, Anusha, introduced me to this lovely year-end reflection tool called the Year’s Compass a while ago. It allows me to look at my life holistically, contemplating aspects of my life that truly matter, like my relationships, my contributions, my physical, mental and spiritual health. But more importantly, it allows for celebration of life itself. Every year, it has pushed me to look at everything that has worked out for me that year. It has nudged me to see the wonders of my life, and to feel blessed. It has also allowed me to look back at the year gone by and acknowledge the challenges, the hurt, and the heart breaks along the way. This ritual has encouraged me to look for all the hidden gifts that have come in the form of challenges and pushed me to step out of my comfort zone, either by innovating or by giving me the gift of insight. And finally it has allowed me to let go. Let go of the difficulties, anger over certain situations but equally the joys and accomplishments, understanding that both joy and pain are transient.
And finally, it makes way for me to hope, to connect and to find support in the year ahead. My year forward has been about identifying ways that I can connect more deeply, with myself and my loved ones. I fill pages and pages with my hopes and dreams and things that will fill my soul. And it gets me to think about the ebb and flow of life. It makes me realise that while I cannot control what happens to me, I can control how I choose to be and that is a comforting thought to start another incredible year.
So go ahead, choose a lovely evening in the middle of December, bring out that bottle of wine, put on some lovely music and spend some time putting down your thoughts on the booklet. You could do this by yourself, or with a spouse/ child/ friend like I do. Take this time to celebrate your joys and hold yourself through your tears and then get done with the year. Commit this year to memory. Then take a deep breath and start again with hope and the knowledge that you will make it through and come out maybe stronger or maybe gentler, holding on to the thought that you can choose who you want to be in the year ahead.
To download your copy of the years compass, visit: https://yearcompass.com/
