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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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LETTING GO
New Year's Day has come and gone. Revelers celebrated with various traditions ranging from midnight kisses to polar bear swims. Some lit fireworks while others watched. Many screamed, blew noisemakers, honked horns or sang "Auld Lang Syne." Others ate black-eyed peas and cabbage while making New Year's resolutions. In some way or other, most Americans ritually let go of the old year and embraced a new one. While many of us overindulge in revelry and pay the consequences, it is fun and exhilarating to participate in these rituals of release. It is also rejuvenating to make resolutions, set goals and lay out plans for the new year, even though they are often short-lived. It just feels good to let go and start over again. For a few moments or a few hours or a few days, we allow ourselves to forget our woes and faux pas as we enjoy the present and anticipate the future. Without our baggage, we delight in celebratory activities. We temporarily suspend judgment and fear. We see our lives and the world in which we live as being ripe with possibility. So why do we restrict ourselves to doing this only once a year at midnight on January 1st? Why not do it on the first day of each month, or even weekly on our chosen Sabbath? Why not be really radical and do it each night before going to bed? We could have a little nightly ritual in which we evaluated the day, looked at what went well and what didn't work, let go of it all, and planned the changes we wanted to make the next day. Imagine what it would be like to let go of the past and start over every twenty-four hours. Would our lives improve? Would we enjoy life more? Perhaps we should all resolve to find out.
© 2005 David Bentley David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world. You may contact him at 360.378.8436 by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com |
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