When I was little,
I used to imagine that country roads fringed with trees were magical doorways to mystical places.
I delighted in walking or driving through them.
I loved to watch and feel the sun dancing over me,
Visualizing myself emerging from the tree-like tunnel,
Transformed into something bigger and better than whatever I was.
Fantasies tend to fade in adulthood,
And yet still today,
A beautifully secluded road canopied by trees continues to draw my eye,
And my heart,
To the promise that transformation could,
Just maybe,
Lie scarcely beyond my sight,
Across the enchanted threshold.
New beginnings have this same allure,
The promise of a fresh start,
Shedding of old skin,
A miraculous metamorphosis that comes with tomorrow's dawn.
The new year in particular is a time when we like to contemplate our next transformation,
Reflect on our values,
And set goals for the next trip around the sun.
I have ideas for setting goals and sticking to them,
But that's a different meditation.
For this meditation,
I invite you to consider the potential for renewal not as a grand gesture or deeply detailed agenda of steps,
But rather as a subtle gift given to us many times,
Every day,
In the ordinary,
The mundane,
The unnoticed.
Thinking back now,
I realize that I spent many childhood hours disappointed that my miraculous transformation didn't come true.
But I see things differently now.
Now I know that witnessing the majesty of the trees,
Standing bewildered by the speckling of blue behind them and the sunlight like confetti on the road,
The wonder and captivation of the moment,
That was and is the transformation.
I never changed into something or someone better,
Smarter,
Or more beautiful by crossing an imaginary threshold.
Because I didn't need to change.
There's never any need for any of us to change to prove our goodness.
Our worthiness is inherent.
The only truly essential change we need is a shift in our perception to open ourselves to receive the beauty and blessings that surround us at all times in the simplest of moments.
In those flashes of awe,
I saw,
And still see,
Through the veil between worlds.
I call them snow globe moments,
As if I'm standing suspended in time in the middle of pure magic,
Cascading and dancing around me like glitter in a snow globe.
It wasn't until recently that I realized I've been having these experiences my whole life.
Through every phase,
Every hardship,
Every accomplishment,
They've always been right there,
Just waiting for me to take notice.
These delicately beautiful,
Almost otherworldly moments only come to me in times of presence.
Never when I'm rushing or forcing or contemplating to-do lists or agendas,
And most certainly not when I'm trying to change who I am.
And so,
As I contemplate my New Year's resolutions,
I tenderly hold the intention of presence,
Of opening myself to grace,
And to receiving the infinite gift of renewal tucked within each breath,
Each dawn,
Each moment of quiet beauty.
And I invite you to sit in silent presence with me,
Invoking the sacred stillness of winter,
Shocked by your warm and steady heartbeat,
Renewed,
Transformed,
With every breath.
May you be safe,
May you be at ease,
And may you be open to the infinite promises of renewal.
