Here’s an inspiration that came to me in my morning reflections which I’d like to share as we head into the new year…
As a collective consciousness, we tend to look at New Year celebrations with a sense of optimism, hope, determination and purpose. We reflect back on our past accomplishments / failures and create new intentions for ourselves to carry forward. We cling to a sense of hope that circumstances will improve over the next 12 months.
To say that 2020 will be remembered as a special year may be the understatement of the decade. And it would be easy to simply lie back in a state of waiting in hopes that maybe things in 2021 will improve. The point here is this…if we adopt a passive approach in hopes that things will improve without taking definite action, we are carrying with ourselves a disservice in the coming months.
There exists a simple truth that we become what we meditate upon. If we meditate on our ego, our sufferings, our insecurities, we become that. If we meditate on love, we become that. If we meditate upon divinity, we become that. So why wait in hopes that circumstances will improve in the future? Determine what you want your consciousness to become, and begin meditating on that. And don’t wait! Every breath is precious.
In the Vedic realm of thought, the standard unit of time is called a “prana”, which is the moment where a breath occurs. For context, this measures up to the rough equivalent of 4 seconds in the way we calculate time in the west. Within that framework of the prana as a unit of time lies a beautiful structure of inhalation and exhalation that sustains all life. And this process is mirrored throughout the universe in dual cycles of inhalation and exhalation. That process is observed daily in day and night cycles. In lunar cycles of waxing and waning moons. In the rise and fall of the sun’s movement through the solstices, and so forth. In that sense, every inhalation becomes a new birth, a new opportunity to seize the reins of your life in the present moment. Don’t wait for the next year to strengthen that resolve! Become what you are meant to be with the next incoming breath! Both now and throughout the coming year. I share this fleeting inspiration with you, dear reader, but let it also be known that this is also a reminder for myself as well…
In closing, I’d like to leave you with a quote from renowned actor and comedian Jim Carrey, who gave the following commencement address at the Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, IA, in 2014:
“Your job is not to figure out how it’s going to happen for you, but to open the door in your head. And when the door opens in real life, just walk through it. And don’t worry if you miss your cue because there’s always doors opening. They keep opening.”
My deepest heartfelt wishes for an auspicious, abundant and healthy 2021 to you and your loved ones. May you meditate on beauty and become that.
j