A lot of people link the New Year with big change. It's seen by many as some mystical time of setting new goals and dreaming bit. As a liminal time, there is power in the changing of the year, and it's a natural time to leave behind things we want to be rid of and to envision a better and brighter life for ourselves.
But sometimes, the idea of big change is just too much. Some years we may not want to do anything big, or even really anything new. For many people, the last couple of years have been too much, and though I think we all wish for things to be better, the prospect of working that change in our personal lives can feel daunting. For other people, they have created big changes in their personal lives, and may need a year to regain their footing, a year of rest to really settle into the changes they have already made.
Just because we are starting a new year doesn't mean we have to seek out newness in our life. Just because we are leaving behind an old year doesn't mean we have to set ourselves up with tasks to either get rid of or bring in different things. Sometimes, it's okay to just want to stick with our regular patterns.
The thing about life is that it sometimes brings us change whether we want it or not. I think part of the reason why we look to change at the New Year is because it is a natural time of transition. I am a huge fan of reflection, of checking in at certain times (and yes the New Year is one of those), because I'm naturally forgetful, and I know that if I don't link reflection to specific times, I will forget to examine my life. And if I'm not looking at where I am, then nothing will ever change.
But I also understand being overwhelmed by change. When we are bombarded by changes, especially changes that are big and scary (and completely out of our control), we feel helpless and tiny. We feel adrift on a turbulent sea, clinging to anything that feels safe and familiar and just wanting to close our eyes, block everything out and reassure ourselves that we have any sort of agency.
It is at these times we might feel a need to sink into our established rhythms instead of trying to change our course. When we feel out of control, we turn to the familiar as a way to ground and center. And whether or not the change was big and external or more personal, sometimes we need to focus on stability instead of looking for something new.
Traditions can be very soothing, and if you have built New Year traditions into your personal practice and life, it may feel scary to try to change that, but the nice thing is that you may not have to. It may just take a bit of twisty thinking, turning your perspective on it's side and considering the New Year from a different angle.
For quite a few years now, I've picked a theme for my years. Normally this theme comes with the idea of 'big work'. Whatever my theme is, I'll think about how that can be applied to my life and what I can do to manifest my theme both in my daily life and over the course of the year. In previous years, I've picked themes of magic (working all the Sabbats as well as increasing my daily practice), moons (working every phase of every moon), and reboot (which was meant to look at both my daily activities and my larger practice and give it a complete overhaul from the ground up...but ended up being about rebooting my health...it's funny how life works out).
I can still work with this idea of having a theme for the year and also incorporate in embracing stability and not seeking out change. I just need to broaden my thinking to include more restful themes. I might pick a theme like self-care (and work on being open to my personal needs and allowing myself space to just be with whatever feelings and experiences I'm going through), or maybe I could pick stability (working on really sinking into my daily rhythms and the other structures that make me feel safe and keep my life running smoothly).
Instead of setting forward thinking goals, I could turn them inward, and work on acceptance or empathy or observance. The key is to find something that doesn't push you. It may feel counterintuitive, especially if you are normally very goal oriented or if you are someone who finds big dreams helps them get the daily stuff done (I am very much one of those people...if I don't have some kind of bigger picture, then I feel like nothing gets done).
And sometimes it means just sitting with the idea of having a rest year. We might have to remind ourselves that 'not doing stuff' can actually be productive. That if we are constantly going and doing and looking ahead, we never have time to reset and dream. And both of those are necessary for a balanced and healthy life!
Rest time lets us recover our balance. When we are constantly on the go, we never get a proper reset, and that means we don't fully integrate what we have learned along the way. Think of it like trying to only survive on naps, instead of getting a proper night's sleep. Even if you spend the same amount of time 'sleeping', taking 8 one hour naps isn't nearly as restful as sleeping for 8 hours straight.
Dreaming is a creative output. Dreaming includes time to wonder, to let thoughts drift around in your head just to see where they will go. It's a form of rest, and it's often where our big ideas come from. If you are wanting to focus on resting and dreaming, you can gather up your ideas and thoughts and keep them for later, for when you are ready to get back in there. If you never stop to dream, you might suffer from burnout, from a lack of ideas for new projects.
As we begin this new year, ask yourself if you need a new goal or if you need to step back from newness. Both are perfect answers, at different times, the key is knowing which is best for you right now.
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