January is…

We all seem to have this collective agreement that when December 31st meets January 1st, we will increase the yearly number by one and time will march on while we keep writing the wrong date on all our correspondence for a few weeks.

You know, there are much better times in nature’s cycle to mark the beginning of a new year.

Maybe like at the Winter Solstice, when a new solar year begins?

Or the Spring Equinox, when life fully awakens from dormancy and the world begins to green and grow?

But in the middle of Winter?  When the earth still sleeps, and the weather will be just what it is for a while? That doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.

But it is what it is!

January is named for the ancient Roman God Janus, who Wikipedia tells us “is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past.”

I guess if we are going to arbitrarily decide a time to mark the beginning of a new year, then we’d better name it for a god who rules gates and doorways, beginnings and endings. At least looking behind and ahead at the same time makes sense in transition.

We are so entrained that January 1st means a fresh start that we do, indeed, start fresh. Or try to. We make plans and resolutions. Set intentions and parameters.

And yet we know that any time can be a “new” time, a “new” opportunity. Let’s decide to make this one new and to use each of the opportunities it brings us!

Just for fun!

  A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music […]

a mini Zen story…

An old Zen master always told this parable to “unserious” students: Late one night a blind man was about to go home after visiting a friend. “Please,” he said to his friend, “may I take your lantern with me?” “Why carry a lantern?” asked his friend. “You won’t see any better with it.” “No,” said […]

Where does the darkness go?

We celebrate this coming Friday as the Winter Solstice, the turning point in our calendar as the daylight begins to increase each day. The solstice has the shortest period of daylight and also the longest night of the year. Yet, the light begins, ever so slowly, to return. The light and the dark move to […]

Your Golden Buddha

I’ve always thought it was a beautiful parable about the fact that we’re all already perfect and that all we have to do is chip away at the plaster that’s gotten in the way. But get this: The Golden Buddha is actually REAL! (Don’t you love it when you can combine historical reality with metaphorical […]

In a fog?

When we feel muddied and unfocused, unsure of which way to turn, we say we are in a fog. Like being in a fog in nature, we may feel like we can’t see where we’re going or where we’ve come from. And we’re afraid if we move too quickly we might run into something hidden […]

Kids said what?

Teacher: How old is your father? Kid: He is 6 years old. Teacher: What? How is this possible? Kid: He became a father only when I was born. (Logical? Of course!)   Teacher: Maria, go to the map and find North America. Marie: Here it is. Teacher: Correct. Now, class, who discovered America? Class: Maria […]

Wisdom from Winnie the Pooh

Meaningful truths abound in childen’s books! And Winnie the Pooh and his friends are thought-provoking and inspiring! Here’s some of my favorites!                                             On friendship~ On self-esteem~ “You are braver than you believe. Stronger […]

So should we ask why? Part 2

Last week I wrote about weakening questions like “Why does this always happen to me?” On the other end of the spectrum, there are the what and how questions that are strengthening questions. These are the questions that bring forth a perspective that will help us overcome any obstacle or challenge. Some examples of what questions are: […]

Don’t ask why! Part 1

There are basically two types of questions that we can ask ourselves on a daily basis. And today’s post will focus on the first type. This first category of questions weakens our ability to think effectively and, at the same time, makes us feel inadequate and incapable as we lose ourselves within our excuses and […]