Release by Darrah Parker
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
-
T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”
The beginning of a new year gives us a chance to start over. A chance to reset, renew, and reignite. This is one of the many things that make us humans amazing. We are resilient. We are hopeful. We believe that things can change and that the best is yet to come.
Even in the cold of winter, there is the hope of spring.
It never fails. This time of year often gets people off their butts and filled with the feeling that they can conquer the world (or at least the gym). Perhaps you have a few New Years resolutions or if you’re like me, you’ve chosen a word to guide you through the year. Maybe you’re kicking a habit or introducing a new practice into your life. A New Year is an exciting time, full of promise and promises.
And then January 1 turns into January 2 and the shiny newness of our resolutions turns a little gray and by the time we are half-way through January, those resolutions start weighing us down, contributing to our already lengthy to-do lists.
But what if we stopped the guilt in its tracks? What if we released the need to do the “New Year” thing perfectly and tuned in to what we really need at any given moment?
Diane Sawyer was describing an “internal GPS” during her Master Class on OWN (yup, that stands for Oprah Winfrey Network and yup, I’m already obsessed.) She spoke about checking in with our internal global positioning once in a while and asking ourselves if what we are doing is getting us closer or taking us further away from who we want to be.
I really dig this idea and plan on using my word for the year as my GPS regulator. I imagine a little button on my brain that when pressed emits a slow beeping sound, much like metal detectors that people use to find treasure on the beach. As I get closer to my true self and my goals, the beeping gets louder, signaling that I’m headed in the right direction. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeep. If I don’t hear any beeping at all, at times when I am standing over a pot of pasta (shoveling it in) or times when I say yes when I should have said no, I will know that I’m not listening to my GPS or that my GPS isn’t turned on at all.
It’s time to tune in and listen carefully. Our global positioning systems never lie.
Love this. What a great way to stay in the present, to really pay attention to our inner voices in the context of day to day experience. I will definitely try to keep this in mind!
Nice. I will use this too. And I'm going to look for the Diane Sawyer master class. Sounds good.
I chose Allow as my word (which for me seems similar to Release), but the word Revisit has also been swimming around in my head. Revisit has recently come to mean just what you're talking about here – my internal GPS and how I'm realizing how helpful it is when I continually check into it. Great post!
I love this…I will be listening for and leaning into that beautiful beeping sound.
Thank you.
What a wonderful post and a good reminder!
Great Post Darrah. I'm obsessed with OWN too- wait till they get all the new shows… I love thinking about my internal gps- I'm going to try to remember that especially times when I want to say no but say yes.
Thank you
Great post! I'm looking forward to when my internal GPS says "you've arrived at your destination"…then I can plan my next adventure! x
This is such a cool discovery (this blog!) I already shared your Roots of She project with a couple of women that I think would like this kind of thing. I am on my third year of picking a word for the year instead of a forgotten resolution. The word stays with me and I try out different words throughout the first few days of January to find the right one. My word this year is Gratitude. Today, I am grateful for discovering your blog.
Great post–our internal compass and navigator knows more than we remember to give it credit for.
I LOVE this blog. I could not stop reading it. It gave me so much to think about, go "hmmm", and just so inspiring and motivating. I look forward to reading new post and re-reading the ones already posted. I have already shared this blog with everyone on my facebook account. Thank you so much for creating this.