According to the Gregorian Calendar, we have entered into a new year. Two thousand and eleven - a lot of years. But there are different ways to count a year, since a date is, after all, only a human construction. We are in year five thousand, seven hundred, seventy-one of the Jewish calendar; or year one thousand, four hundred, thirty-two of the Islamic/Hijri calendar; or either 4704 or 4647 of the Chinese continuously numbered system. All those different ways of counting time make me feel a little unmoored - where are we?
In a way, releasing ourselves to look at the date as a construct is liberating. Nominally, we are entering a new year. But that year has only the meaning that we give it and by framing it we create its own story. Kind of like writing, right? Of course, in life there are plenty of things outside of our control. I can already tell 2011 will bring curveballs and challenges for me. But, like with writing, I can set the tone and try to explore what happens.
The stillness of winter is a lovely time to sit back and evaluate, so, taking advantage of the tradition, I do have a few goals for the new year. I want to continue to use my yoga practice to open my heart and creativity. I want to write more and try to write better. I want to challenge myself by reading new and different books. (More on that later - I'll be looking for recommendations!)
I'm interested to hear how others feel about the "new" year. Do you feel we have marked a milestone? Do you have objectives for the months that come?
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