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Time
For Change
- Article by Keith McFarlane
for CITI HEALTH
The After Party
As the party noise dies down, so we face a brand new year. Not just any old year - this is 2012; perhaps the most anticipated year in recorded history. From the pyramids and texts of the ancient Mayans, to the prophesies of Nostradamus and the predictions of modern day scientists; all agree that this is the year of change, the great shift of the ages.
Hollywood
Now keeping with Hollywood tradition, there are those who say that this is it; the last year of earth’s great history. In fact, some doomsday prophets go as far as to say the world will end on the 21st of December. It has even been rumoured that billions of dollars have been spent researching the potentially devastating consequences, should the soothsayers be correct. Now before you start buying property in the Drakensberg or building an underground bunker, it is important to remember that change, while not always comfortable, is inevitable and often times very welcome.
Y2K prepared
Personally, I’m not one for disaster movies. Much like the highly anticipated ‘Y2K crash’, I am sure we will all awaken to a bright New Year’s Day on the first of January, 2013; perhaps with a few extra cases of baked beans, but none the worse for wear. I like to think of it as ‘the end of the world as we know it’ and the start of something new. In fact for the more positively minded thinkers, there is the line of thought that suggests we are experiencing the change of a world age; a great 5125 year long cycle of time is ending and a new one is about to begin. As a great optimist, I’d like to think we are stepping into a whole new era of human consciousness; the highly prized 1000 years of peace.
Resolution
Now running with that theme, isn’t it a great opportunity to clear out the old and start anew, which of course brings us to the subject of New Year’s resolutions. Unlike the traditional approach of ‘in one year and out the other’; maybe this is an ideal time to really focus on personal change; whether you want to lose weight, get a six pack, stop smoking, find the partner or vocation of your dreams or simply slow down, smile more and live this year one day at a time. If this is the year of cosmic change, then why not take it personally, rise to the challenge and shift into warp speed. After all today is the first day of the rest of your life!
Stop the merry-go-round
What would you most like to change in your life and why? Let’s have a look at those New Year’s resolutions. Do they look familiar? Is this just another rewrite of 2011 and the years before that? The question you most need to answer is why do you want to change?
Sometimes the reason is clear; your health is at stake or you want to feel better about yourself and sometimes you’re simply bored, in a rut and the time is right for a change. You could say a cycle is ending.
Be the change
If you have decided to lose those extra kilos, give up cigarettes and get a new hobby, it is important that you are prepared for the change. For some, this can be a daunting time and may even seem like the world is ending. This is understandable. Let’s face it, good or bad, you’ve invested a lot in this cycle of experience; it’s become a part of your identity and to lose it may feel like you’re losing a part of yourself. But that’s all that it is; an experience. It is only attachment to these experiences that determines how you move through the cycles.
Remember change is nothing new; it is happening all the time. Whether at a cellular, emotional or mental level, you are in constant change. It is who you are.
A new awareness
Think of yourself as someone slim, an ex smoker, someone with an exciting hobby or whatever it is that you have resolved to experience. Outline a plan that fills you with enthusiasm for the changes you most want to experience and then release the ‘old you’ kindly, knowing that you have completed a cycle. Be disciplined in your new ways, yet flexible and most of all look forward to more changes. After all, that is what makes life the great adventure that it is.
The after party
Change doesn’t have to be cataclysmic to bring about a new world. Sometimes it just needs a little shift in how we think about it. How will you remember 2012? Will it be just another year that passes holding on to outdated habits and experiences, or will you take up the challenge, set your purpose and change your health, your life and maybe even your destiny?
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