It is possible to make a case for Fall being the time to mark the beginning of one year and the end of an old one. The crops have grown and been harvested, the growing season is completed. The fall begins and we prepare ourselves for winter slow down, possibly even hibernation. Some scientists have made a claim that our bodies have a built-in rhythm that goes counter to our current Gregorian calendar making January an unnatural time to begin. Regardless, we are stuck for the present with the cycles we have and we need to make the best of them.
Between the beginning of the Gregorian New Year and the Lunar New Year is a good time to engage in a period of reflection and intention setting for the upcoming year of activities. While the cycle of the New Year may be an easy demarcation for this it is an activity and practice we can constantly engage. Let me now offer to you a possible framework over which you can construct your own personal reflection and renewal.
How much of your life is actually yours and how much of it is someone else’s? When was the last time you thought about the things you do, the things you think, what you like and what your opinions are? If you are thinking, and doing things the same as everyone around you it might be a sign that your life has lost its individuality, and you have become a life that is being lead. How freely are you able to do what you want to do or think what you want even if you are the only one doing it and it goes contrary to what your acquaintances are doing? It isn’t wrong to be like others, as long as it is our intention and not their intention, which is being followed. Are you at the present the kind of person you thought you would be 10 years ago? If not, what happened to that person? It may be there were some necessary changes in the 10-year vision, or it may be that the vision has become obscured. Now is a good time to reflect on what you need to do to get back on your own path and not the path of others.
Sometimes one of the most difficult things to do is to let go of something that does not really exist. We are very clever animals capable of constructing believable illusions to support a desire to avoid confronting the realities of life. Some examples may be things you were wrong about or choices you made that were not wise. It can be difficult to admit to the mistake and let go of those choices. We are sometimes more gifted with the ability to construct a false reality than we are with admitting to a mistake. Living in the false reality or with the mistake long enough does not make it any more true. The interesting thing is that correcting the mistake or adjusting the perception actually takes less energy and yields greater happiness in the end. But the fear is what keeps us locked into the energy depleting and happiness-robbing cycle.
Following that is the opening up of other possibilities and the changes we can make. Until we let go of our false realities we will never begin to invest our creativity into other choices. As long as we are spending our energies constructing believable illusions we will not ever begin to make plans to actually change the things that caused us to enter that cycle in the beginning. So while the letting go of the illusions and admitting the need to change can be painful initially, it will quickly yield to the hope and joy of opportunity of change.
Oscar Wilde once said; “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Cultivating a mind that tends toward hope and gratitude requires just that, cultivation. As you engage in the effort of reflection and renewal do so with a mind of hope and gratitude. Get into the habit of gratitude. Plant the seeds of happiness so that happiness will actually bloom in your life. Our Buddhist practice is a good way to nurture this and at the heart of Buddhism is gratitude. We are grateful to our teachers, to the teachings and to the support of fellow practitioners.
Personal integrity isn’t something we often think about or discuss in Buddhism. Yet every time you do something good, something valuable, either for yourself or for someone else even when no one is looking or when no one will know you are practicing a personal integrity. When you had a choice and you chose to do good for no other reason than to do go you were true to yourself and your beliefs. So when the next time you question your worth or your value or your contributions remember those times when you practiced personal integrity. Those personal decisions set you apart and create outcomes, which matter to you and to the universe. At the time of reflection, it is equally important to bring up and consider your personal integrity.
As much as we may like to think life is in our control, in fact there is little we do actually control; more frequently is a series of likely predictions. We might use the language of tomorrow I will get paid, or tomorrow I will do something, but the reality is those are predictions since any number of unforeseen events could occur to change the predicted future activities. I do believe that the closer we live to this very moment and the less we live far out into the future the greater our ability is to make wise choices in the moment and to deal with the things that occur to upset our lives. When you are in the moment and not the past or future you can go more easily with the flow of life. The surprises in our life can be wonderful opportunities to learn new ways of being, but only if we are open to them and not fighting.
Finally, after all of this reflection it is also important to renew and now is a good time to bring up some of your good ideas and make a plan to do something about one of them. This time is like a bridge that can take you to the other shore, the shore of a new life. You have a choice to cross the bridge and make the changes and begin anew working on the things that are meaningful and life-giving, or you can turn back and return to the ways of life that are not so nurturing. Even if you consider yourself very happy in this moment there is always that bridge to cross to even greater happiness and growth. A life that is not growing is actually shrinking. Enlightenment is a process not a destination. How is your process going?
