On The Last Day Of The Year

Excerpted from my Winter Volume of Seasons of The Soul:

The last day of the year has been an uneasy
and painful year for me.

I look forward to the dawn tomorrow,
and, as the days get longer,

to begin to feel my way into renascence.

It is strange though it is mysterious
that our “new year” comes at the
darkest time in the seasonal cycle.
When there is personal darkness,
when there is pain to overcome,
when we are forced to renew ourselves
against all odds,
the psychic energy required
simply to survive has tremendous force,
as great as that of a bulb
pushing through the icy ground in Spring,
so after the overcoming, there is an extra energy,
a flood of energy that can go into creation.

May Sarton

Prayers for Healing

It appears to me that life lived without struggle is a life lived without meaning.

     The new year, like the anniversary of any personal tragic or heartrending experience can be met with an understandable melancholy and a forthright sadness that reflects on the loss and the severing of an earthly bond we once shared.

     While taking an inventory of the year can be a standard and well an advised practice, especially among those who find journaling to be an excellent tool for understanding, we can risk getting stuck or dwelling in dysfunction! 

     Entering into the darkness of our feelings acts as a courageous way we can see and work through anything that binds, limits, and restricts us from learning our necessary lessons, and being able to move on with greater compassion and understanding- for the loss, for the person or situation- and for ourselves.

     The benefits of our willingness to explore our vulnerabilities prepares us for gaining the strength, knowledge, wisdom and understanding that will be necessary for us to grow and eventually bloom in new arrays of color that surpass the old. The energy that is released from facing our dragons and overcoming our fears, losses, and sorrows serve to strengthen our hearts with wider resilience and deeper appreciation for all that a life well lived can hold.

    

 

And some poignant last words and heartfelt advice.

Nobody ever finds a life worth living. One has to make it worth living. All the people to whom life has been abundantly worth living have made it so by [making] an interior, creative, and spiritual contribution of their own back to life and to others.

     Is life worth living? Most people seem to think that is a question about the Cosmos, or about God. No, my friends, that is a question about the inside attitude of you and me.

Harry Emerson Fosdick