A New Dawn

I used to hate New Years. It was that unique time of the year when I looked back and saw all the things that I didn't accomplish and made a grand list of other things I knew I wasn't going to get around to doing. I used to feel beaten by this realization.

That was before I began to think of the new year like another form of yoga: a PRACTICE. Even the word practice suggests that what your doing is for no one but you. Practice says that if you did something you like than, great, you're learning and so keep going in that direction. Practice says that if something didn't work out so well, then, you learned something and now know what not to do and that knowledge is valuable. Either way, the idea of practice takes the pressure off and makes it more fun.

Each time we practice yoga we could compare the first OM to January and the last OM to December. Everything in between, like seasons, like new arrivals and deaths, comes and goes and is just one more shot at making sense of this spin on earth.

It's not neutral, though. It's actually a big deal. And what makes it a big deal is the fact that we are taking another shot at this. "Okay, this time I'm going to try it this way."

The New Year is another opportunity to come back and look at some things that we've previously closeted, like our yoga practice. One of my mentors, a dear friend and successful entrepreneur, Gary, would practice something I have often found useful. One day when he was feeling particularly overwhelmed, he said "Follow me!" and led me to his office. He then pulled out a cardboard box and shoved everything on his desk inside the box then threw the box into a corner. "Now, I feel a lot better. And when I come back to sort out that box in a month, most of it will have absolutely no importance!" Genius. Whether we flagrantly throw our business into a box and ignore it or just take another stab at something that didn't work before, New Years can be that time we take another look at some of that stuff we've closeted.

I want you to join me in saying good-bye to 2008 and hello to 2009. I want to create a ritual with you that will do this important but fun task justice. I want to add music to movement to poetry and see how the ancient practice of yoga brings new light to the dawn that is just before us.

Join me on Thursday morning, for sure, (see below) but all week as we'll be exploring this idea.

See you soon!

Scott