Breathe with the turning of the year.
I'm very happy to share this contemplation with you at this very special time of the year.
Choosing in this moment to let go of the past and to approach the future without striving.
So take a few moments to settle your body,
Allowing yourself to be attentive and at the same time relaxed.
You may choose to close your eyes or soften your gaze and bring your attention inwards,
Allowing these words to fall like rain.
The turning of the year marks the turning of time.
One orbit of the earth around the sun.
It seems like an important moment.
It calls out to be marked in a symbolic way.
And symbols do have value,
So it really is a special time of reflection.
But while it is a special moment,
It is in fact no more or less special than any other moment.
Life is full of rhythms that have no beginning or ending.
The movement of the earth around our sun doesn't have a start or a finish.
It just keeps moving.
The seasons don't suddenly switch from one to the other.
Rather they fade in and out and come round again.
And the sun doesn't really rise and set each day.
It just comes in and out of our view.
The rhythm of time is like the rhythm of our breath,
Arising from nothing and passing away again.
Going into being and going into nothing.
Take a few moments now to recognize this quality of your breath.
Allow yourself some time now to reflect on what has gone.
Acknowledge and then let go of whatever has passed.
The unfinished projects,
The harsh words spoken,
The difficulty or pain that arose,
The mean or jealous thought,
The things you may have clung to,
Even the joyful times.
They are no more.
Let the past go.
Allow your body to teach you this.
Feel the release of your breath.
Every breath must be let go of too.
Feel the relaxation of your body.
Every muscle can be let go of too.
Notice the sensations in your body.
Watch them pass away too.
Acknowledge and let go of whatever has passed,
Recognizing what has gone.
Now allow yourself to acknowledge any expectations and hopes you have for the future.
The new projects,
The resolutions,
The ambitions,
Even the fears and anxieties,
The desire for recognition and anything else that has not actually yet come into being.
It doesn't exist and it's not certain.
Allow the future to arrive however it will.
Allow your body to teach you this too.
Feel the breath creating its own new rhythm without any effort on your part.
Notice the body continue to perform its many functions without any plan or design from you.
And feel the sensations of your body arising from nothing and coming into being all by themselves.
Let the past go.
Allow the future to unfold.
Be with whatever arrives in this moment,
In this special moment at the turning of the year,
No more or less special than any other.
Just breathe with the rhythms of life.
