The Year Of Living Passionately

This year, in the spirit of fabulousness, we are letting go of punishing New Year’s resolutions and choosing to dedicate ourselves to delight. Let 2006 be a year of joy, clarity and positive choices that reflect who you really are.

When New Year’s Eve rolls around, it brings a powerful opportunity to create focus and attention for the year to come - and to celebrate and release all that the past year has brought. Before you pop the champagne cork, take a few moments to look within and set the intention for your fabulous self to take centre stage next year.

This can be as simple or as splendid a process as you’re willing to create, so you can either go the minimalist route and just take some quiet time or go the whole hog and make it a complete celebration. For a fully fabulous effect, set the scene by taking the phone off the hook, lighting candles, playing mellow music and filling the air with your favourite scent. Get together some fun, frivolous music for the finale and have a pen and paper to hand. The final essential for a total blast is a glass of fizz to seal the ritual.

So get quiet, breathe deeply and start to pay attention to your memories of the year that’s now passing. First on the agenda is a sweeping overview from the highest perspective. What were the highlights? What were you doing and who were you with when you had your best times of 2005? When did you feel the most energised, expressive and totally you? What were the top three fabulous things you did, felt and created? Who were you close to and who were the great new people who came into your life? Really pay attention here. The joys of last year are the building blocks for the year to come. If you don’t take time to celebrate them, they’ll pass by without giving up their gifts. It’s like getting presents but not bothering to unwrap them. What was really fabulous for you in 2005 that you haven’t really acknowledged?

Now that you’ve felt the joys, it’s time to let go of a few things that no longer serve you and say a final farewell to the people and things that have left your life in the past year. What are you willing to leave behind you as you face the new year? Look carefully – what choices or attitudes held you back, affected your relationships or blocked your self-expression? Are there circumstances or relationships that it’s time to release? Is there someone you need to forgive or is it simply yourself that you need to give a break to? These insights don’t need to be painful, just purely true and purposeful. The aim is to see clearly, be accepting of yourself and others, and let go. Knowledge is power – if you are willing to see the root of your own self-sabotage, you can do something about it. Remember, the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

At last, the really creative bit: what are you ready to accept for yourself in the new year? Get excited, get passionate and have no limits. Go for what you’re willing to create, not what you think you can have. Who do you want to be physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually? What would your life look like if you were really willing to be your fabulous self? Who would you spend your time with and what would you be doing? What is it that you would just love to be, do or feel? The key word here is love. There will be no list of resolutions, just choices for love and passion: things you love to do, people you love to see. What are they and who are they? Where are you going to devote your energy this year? Go wild and go for the most authentic future you can possibly envision.

Anything is possible as long as you are willing to choose it and genuinely commit to it. My friend Charlotte told me about a fabulous choice she made one year: to spend at least one weekend a month abroad. Not only that, but she actually did it. Now that’s inspirational!

We’re on the final stretch now. Look at all your fab choices for the year to come and pick your top three. You can have more if you like, but we are not in resolution territory here, so just pick the ones you know you really want and will really commit to making a reality. Breathe them in, see them happening, feel how it would feel to live them and say a total inner ‘yes’ to having them come true. You’re not hoping or wishing, you’re accepting them into your life as utter fact. See yourself making the small choices along the way that will bring these bigger choices to fruition. Know that it’s your willingness to believe in your own fabulousness and take action to support it that will make the coming year different to any other.

Now crack the bubbly, crank up the music and celebrate just how fabulous you are going to be in 2006! If you have any lingering doubts, heed the wisdom of Dawna Markova, author of I Will Not Die An Unlived Life, who says “I’m coming to understand that there is no such thing as finding one’s purpose. It’s about creating the conditions, for six months or six minutes, where your purpose can find you. It’s not about asking what is the meaning of life, but rather asking what your life means. It’s being willing to receive the truth of what you hear.” So listen, choose and commit. This is the path to true fabulousness.

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All material © 2005 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 27 Dec 05)