Today is not the day

New Years Day comes with the sentiment of ‘out with the old and in with the new’. Its an invitation, a challenge, and a mounting, looming pressure that weighs heavily because more often than not, January 1 is not the day.

Our infatuation with trading in the old for the new is proof that we crave change; we are designed to grow. However, over the years and tears, we’ve developed an attachment to change and growth coinciding with feeling better, safer, and more comfortable. I am sure it is not news to you that growth often means varying degrees of discomfort, depending on your palate for all things new and unknown. The result is that our innate urge for change and growth is met with our well-developed resistance to discomfort and the ultimate decision to stick to what we know, no matter how confining and uncomfortable that may be. (Yup, you read that right, staying in the current familiar discomfort avoids new discomfort that might lead somewhere else)

Imagine your comfort zone as the well-known, well-lit area you currently live in. Every thought, feeling and sensation has been experienced before. You can see in every direction and the light shines in every nook and cranny. There are no surprises around non-existent corners. The darkness that falls just beyond that light, perhaps you have peeked at it once or twice, that is where the new year exists. Not in a day but in whatever moment your courage and will intertwine and you slip a toe, just one toe beyond the circle of light.

And when you do, BAM, the flood lights switch on and bathe you; the darkness is dark no more – all it needed was your attention to be fully and completely illuminated. It was only dark because you were unwilling to look, drawn to the familiar light of where you have already been. This newly illuminated space, its always been there, always waiting to be seen and experienced, always a part of your ever whole, ever growing self.

I have the great privilege of being present for many people’s New Years Day. Not only on January 1, but whatever day their courage and will intertwine enough to meet me and slide their toe across the line. I bear witness to circles of light expanding and conscious self awareness flooding in, over, and through body mind and soul. I hold space for the discomfort and elation of expansion, release, and growth as they rise and integrate and rise some more.

I hope our paths meet in 2021

Erica