“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.Finish every day and be done with it.You have done what you could.Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
With the start of this New Year, let’s reflect on the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson “finish every day and be done with it, and begin each day well and serenely. The new day is too dear to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
2022 is done, let’s be present to each day of this new year, starting each day with intention. I’m not much into New Year’s resolutions… I think they set us up for too many rigid expectations that are out of reach for most of us. Instead, look at the big picture of what you would like your days to look like in 2023.
The best thing that most likely happened to me was three weeks ago, when I was multitasking. I was rushing around my house, doing 25 things at the same time. I had just taken my puppy outside, it was raining and she wouldn’t come into the house, so I ran outside to get her just wearing socks on my feet. I came into the house and started dinner—popped something into the air fryer, was stir frying veggies on the stove, then quickly ran downstairs into our basement to get something out of the freezer, while carrying a bunch of items in my arms. My socks were still wet, I turned the corner of my old wooden worn out steps, going about a thousand miles per hour —I slipped on the wooden step with my wet sock, went up into the air and hit down on my left buttock—and fell down all seven steps. I ended up with quite a large hematoma on my left buttock, and was pretty shaken up by the incident. It could have been so much worse if I hit my head, or broken a bone, it could been a devastating outcome. It was a huge wake up call for me to SLOW DOWN!!!!
That same week, I was out visiting a hospice patient for a wound consult. I was helping her to the bathroom, and she looked up at me, and said, “I move very slowly now, I have no time to rush.” Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. Those words, “I have no time to rush” are going to carry me through the year 2023. That is my intention for the new year. Why do I have such a sense of urgency throughout my day? Can I allow myself to slow things down and enjoy each moment? When I am rushing around, I‘m always trying to cram just one more thing into my day, leading me to feel like there is just not enough time. This leads to more anxiety in my body, and a deep feeling of unease. When I’m intentional with my time, there is more awareness of what’s here in the moment. Pausing for a few seconds, coming back to my breath, feeling my feet on the ground—getting out of my head and back into my body. Realizing that every moment is sacred.
So, think about what you would like to bring into this new year, and intentionally let it in. Be curious about moving through your day a little differently than our habitual way of doing things.
Write in your heart that every day is the best day of the year.
Wishing you a year that will be filled with many blessings, health, a sense of ease, and peace for 2023.