Deeper Streams

The turning of a new year is by definition a pivotal moment, the launchpad for detox diets and gym memberships, the reining-in of holiday excesses. A clean slate. A fresh start. The turning over of a new leaf. Such is the DNA of what we call “resolution.”

Resolution involves willpower, and if there’s one thing we can say about willpower, it is a limited resource. By February 1, most of us have returned to the same patterns that keep us locked in the lives we’ve been living. As bearers of Divine Image, we have the innate desire to create something new, but there is an energy of homeostasis, a comfort with what is known, that keeps us from the edge of what is unknown.

In this realm of the known, we have often spoken in creeds and formulas that we are “created in God’s image.” The problem with creeds and formulas is that we so rarely believe what is contained in them, let alone experience them as humans. Case in point:  if we really bear Divine Image, then in concert with Divine Spirit, we are also creators. What is it then that we are going to create? 

The deeper stream of “resolution” is to be found in clear, creative intention, supported by the unlimited fuel of gratitude. If you can spend some moments seeing yourself one year forward, and then express those things for which you are profoundly grateful, you will have created something that is far different–far better–than what you would have thought possible.

The default method for moving into the new year is to “take it as it comes,” to “see where it goes,” or worse yet, to let the toxic waste of the news cycle wash over you day after day. We must create something far better than that, a just and peaceful world, one that is characterized by love for one another and a commitment to the common good.

This will not happen until our inner world is at peace, until we have surrendered our willpower to Divine Intention. Take a moment today and just breathe. Listen to a better voice. Release the desire to take in useless information. Resist the manipulators of public discourse.  Find the still small voice within you and stay in its presence for as long as you possibly can.

And then, in the power of gratitude, create the new year that is worthy of your time, your efforts, and your energy. All of humanity needs your best self to be fully centered, utterly present, and completely engaged with what is true and beautiful and filled with grace.

David Starbuck Gregory