Hope on the Threshold

Hope for the New Year

We are on the threshold of a new year and I carry a world of hope with me as I approach the place where I must take a leap toward the unknown, toward all of the unmanifest possibilities for what my life will look like in the next year. I tremble with excitement and awe, yet I know there are wings that will catch the wind beneath me; with them I'll fly above the clouds and make grander memories than I've ever enjoyed so far.

Prepare to Welcome in 2019

How do you feel as the new year approaches? There's less than 24 hours left to 2018. What will you do with that time to prepare for the dawning of new possibilities for your life? Below are some questions and suggestions for preparing to welcome in 2019.

Tools for Reflection

This article is filled with more questions than answers. What can I say? I'm a philosopher at heart. Here are some suggestions for reflection tools and questions you can answer for yourself as you contemplate how to celebrate the dawning of a new year.

Tools

Do you have a favorite way to reflect on things that happen in your life? Here are some that I use, and others may as well:

1. Write and/or draw in a journal.

2. Walk a Labyrinth, alone or with other people.

3. Create a vision board or collage that reflects the passions you want to bring with you into 2019.

4. Write a letter to 2018, thanking the year for all of the blessings you've enjoyed.

5. Unplug and take a walk in nature.

6. Practice Yoga or another type of movement meditation

7. Practice Zen meditation.

8. Cook or bake your favorite food to share.

Ten Questions

Here are some questions to consider while reflecting:

1. What were 3 of your greatest blessings of 2018?

2. Did you experience any miracles this past year?

3. What are your fondest memories from 2018?

4. What are three things you are proud of accomplishing in 2018?

5. What do you love to do most and want to do more of in 2019?

6. What three projects do you want to focus on most in 2019?

7. Where are three places you want to visit in 2019? Do you need a passport for visiting at least one of them?

8. In what ways do you give back to your community (town, church, etc.)?

9. Who do you want to spend more time with in the next year? How will you make room for spending more time with that person/those people?

10. Who do you need to forgive and how will you express your forgiveness?

Things I've Done to Prepare for the New Year

1. Write and draw in my journal

2. Walk the wooded labyrinth in my co-housing community

3. Take a long walk in Nature

4. Cook my favorite foods to share with loved ones, friends & neighbors

5. Practice Zen meditation

What I Want to Do More in 2019

1. Walk lots of labyrinths, alone and with others

2. Play at least 1 musical instrument every day

3. Finish writing my novels

4. Write more poems

5. Create a multi-media tabletop labyrinth each month on canvas

6. Visit France, Ireland and Scotland

7. Complete my Life Coach Certification course

8. Publish at least one article a month on HubPages.

9. Take long walks in nature

Bless the four corners of your house

And be the lintel blessed.

Bless the hearth and bless the board,

And bless each place of rest.

Bless the door that opens to stranger as to kin.

Bless each shining window that lets the sunshine in.

Bless the oak tree overhead, bless every sturdy wall.

And may the peace of God above be always on us all.

~ an Irish blessing