
Practice Of Renewal
Join Henry by the forest stream again for a discussion on creating the future you desire. Learn to let go of the old and choose the new as you transition from a challenging morning, week or year in your life. There is quiet time for reflection in the forest at the end of the talk.
Transcript
Hey,
Hello.
Thanks for stopping by and joining me.
I've been sitting by my little waterfall in the forest reflecting on the passing of the old year and the transitioning into the new year.
And I have some things I want to share.
And as a side note,
What I'm about to share with you can relate to any time of the year at any moment in your life.
I'm using the passing of the year 2020 because it is something that we can all relate to in the magnitude of the emotions,
The suffering,
A hardship,
And even in the revelations.
The pandemic is something that really brought the collective human energy down to a more dense state.
Even the most woke among us were not immune to this densification of energy.
It was hard to rise above.
Isolation,
Sickness,
Financial loss,
Losing loved ones to the disease,
It all took us toll on us.
Political volatility and increasing polarity wore us down.
It became a fight between two different points of view.
Depending on what side of the fence you sat,
You were right and they were wrong.
Anx,
Anxiety,
Tension,
Worry,
All dense and heavy.
Those are only a few things about 2020 that made it such a challenging year to get through.
But I want to offer something to help you navigate to a better 2021.
Even if you had a crappy week,
This will help the next week be better.
Or a lousy morning.
You can make a better afternoon.
As humans,
There is an overwhelming tendency for us to identify with our emotional state.
The English language indirectly supports us in that,
I am sad,
I am angry,
I am frustrated,
And so on through the full range of emotions and states of being.
Anytime we say I am,
We are creating what we are with what follows.
In truth though,
It is incorrect to say I am sad.
We should really say I feel sad or I am feeling sadness.
The sadness is not you.
You are merely feeling the sadness.
So when we create who we are because of the accumulation of emotional states,
I am statements,
And the absorption of the ambient collective energy,
We define ourselves in the current moment by it.
So by the end of 2020,
We are a big ball of frustration,
Anxiety,
Anger,
Worry,
Etc.
Etc.
So now comes the challenge.
I want you to consciously separate yourself from your emotions.
Realize the emotions will pass.
They always do.
And in many cases,
Our emotions are present purely by choice.
We weren't even aware that we have chosen them.
For example,
You have a fight with your spouse or partner or workmate or a boss one day.
It spoils your day.
You stew over it and worry about it.
You play out all kinds of scenarios in your head as to what has happened,
What was happening,
And what's going to happen later,
Most of which is fiction.
You go to bed in that state.
You sleep and you rest.
And when you wake up,
Often for the first few seconds,
You don't really have an emotional state.
You're calm.
And then you remember the previous day.
Oh yeah,
I'm angry at my coworker.
And then you replay all those stories and the emotions take over.
And you feel everything as though the fight is happening right now.
And your body responds by putting you in a fight-or-flight mode.
So then your whole next day becomes the same as the previous one.
So back to the challenge.
It doesn't matter what happened.
Step away from judging it to be good or bad or indifferent and let it go.
Try to let go of who was right,
Who was wrong.
It was an event that happened.
There are now some challenges,
But there are also valuable lessons.
There is so much to be learned from our experience of 2020.
There are things we deemed awful or terrible,
But there are also beautiful things like new and unique expressions of love and care that surfaced.
Yes,
We are glad the year is over.
Let it go.
Let go of the energy.
Let go of the mood you're in at the end of it.
Breathe through the process.
As you breathe in,
Imagine the inhaling of fresh new mood,
A good mood.
As you breathe out,
Imagine exhaling this stale,
Dense,
Yucky mood from yesterday.
You are in control of how you respond to anything and everything in your life.
That's where your power is.
Right now,
Choose to let go of the yuck.
Choose to make 2021 better or next week better or the afternoon better than the morning.
Be more conscious.
When you find yourself becoming reactive and upset,
Maybe angry and frustrated,
Pause and breathe.
Ask yourself,
Is how I'm responding right now contributing to a better future or is it pulling me back to the misery and suffering?
Choose to be happy.
Express gratitude for what you have,
For video conferencing down lockdown so you could see your loved ones,
For the full moon on a clear night,
For the sun coming up.
Choose the high road.
If it was a fight or a disagreement,
Maybe you were treated unfairly and you likely need to do something to solve the situation.
Undo something you did or at the very least make your views heard.
So be it.
But also realize that in life sometimes you will have lessons of loss and hardship.
Everyone does to varying degrees,
But it becomes a choice with how you react to it all.
Remember,
You simply cannot complain and gripe your way to a better life.
It doesn't work.
Never has,
Never will.
You only get to a better life by choosing a better life,
Taking steps toward it,
Being thankful for the journey to a better life.
Soon enough you'll realize that the better life is in fact the journey in and of itself.
Choose for 2021 to be a good year.
If there are things you don't like,
Make steps to change them,
Even baby steps.
The smallest of steps toward something has an effect on the universe because you're not only in the universe,
You are the universe just like the stars and the galaxies.
You're made up of the same source material.
When you are negative and complaining,
You are taking steps toward what you don't want.
Don't do it.
Choose better.
Choose happiness.
Choose positive outcomes.
Choose humility and allow yourself to have been wrong.
It's not a bad thing.
Not one of us has the market cornered on being right and what is right for you might not be right for the next person.
Just be open.
Allow.
Put down your weapons and by weapons I don't mean guns and stuff.
I mean your words,
Your negative emotions,
Your crudges,
Your need to be seen as right.
Lay them down.
Let it go.
Let it all go.
Breathe into that.
Let it go.
So I just sit with that for a while.
Enjoy the sound of this wonderful,
Albeit a very small waterfall and just be for a little while.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
I know that this message has been short and that volumes could be written on the subject and that everyone has a situation that is different.
I hope I haven't minimized anyone's pain.
That is not my intention.
Pain is real and we need to feel it and move through it in order to heal.
The bottom line is when you're ready to make the choice,
Remember that the choice is yours and yours alone.
It doesn't matter what anyone else around you might think.
You have the power to choose how you respond to anything and everything in your life.
Let's choose a beautiful future filled with love and compassion for all sentient beings,
For our planet and everything in and on it,
For the universe.
We have the power.
Let's use it.
Let's create that beautiful future.
Let's go.
Let's go.
4.9 (74)
Recent Reviews
Julie
February 5, 2026
What an absolutely precious healing and magical message. Thank you π so much. This is such an important message for us all in theses scary times. We are a vulnerable and fragile nation so easily led and broken. No one teaches us better ways to be - we in the emotional world alone, trying to fight our way out of the darkness many times. Thereβs never an easy way out. Your message is like the magic wand we all need. x thank you from the bottom of my heart x β¨πβ¨π€β¨π
Louise
December 12, 2024
What a time that was. Beautifully said. Thank you.
Frances
September 27, 2023
Such gentle words of wisdom, thank you Henry. I am grateful as always for these beautiful offerings that you gift so generously. Love and blessings to you dear one πx
Kelly
September 20, 2022
I really enjoyed this. Timeless perspective. Thank you.
Sarisha
March 13, 2022
That waterfall is simply the most perfect background to listen to such inspirational words, a beautiful practise for everyday, I loved it Henry, Thank YouπβΊοΈπ«
Bernadette
September 22, 2021
Wat zeg je dat toch mooi Henry: Β«the choise is yours, and yours aloneΒ». Ik weet het maar tΓ³ch steeds weer dat dilemma, die keus. Dankjewel voor je mooie woorden πβ¨πͺ΅π πππ¦ NamastΓ© ππΌ
Judith
July 26, 2021
As always Henry,you just hit the right spot!! I never fail to be moved by your words,you have a unique gift of communicating how people feel!! I love all your meditations. Each one touches my soul Thankyou once again for sharing your thoughts and helping people to heal. Namaste πβ€
Connie
July 4, 2021
That was just what I needed π
Marika
June 21, 2021
I so enjoy the interesting things you say and your soothing voice. Thank you so much for that.π
Lila
June 17, 2021
This was beautiful and soothing Henry ππ» just what I needed today. Thank you for your light. π«
Sandy
May 18, 2021
Always a pleasure to listen to your meditations Namaste π
holly
January 16, 2021
A beautiful choice you made, Henry, in sharing this wisdom. Thank you, I am grateful.
Ana
January 16, 2021
Loved it! Thank you for sharing π Many Blessings and Much Love, Joy and Peace in your Life! Namaste π
Lynda
January 16, 2021
I always look forward to your words. This is the perfect talk going into 2021. I appreciate that you spoke clearly about several important issues we have all struggled with to different extents last year. Namaste π
