A New Way To Do New Years Eve
Happy New Year!
This is one of my favorite times of the year. The end of an old year and the start of the new. It feels so powerful and magical… like anything is possible. It’s a new beginning.
Here is a simple and powerful practice I learned and a better way to powerfully end the year and make way for the new. I hope you enjoy it!
Years ago, I was lucky enough to get invited to spend New Year’s Eve with some friends and a Native American Shaman. It was an amazing night. Along with a potluck dinner, a jigsaw puzzle and The Twilight Zone playing in the background, we did some rituals. It was a powerful experience and since that night, I do my own version of it every year. For me, it creates a sacred experience of the end of the year. It can take hours or moments; you can do it alone or with friends. The trick is to make it something that is powerful for you.
1. Celebrate the Good
We often go from one year to the next without really acknowledging and celebrating our good. It can be very empowering and motivating to put your attention on your good.
Pullout a piece of paper, think about and write down the good that happened in your life, your successes, and what you’re really grateful for. Then spend a bit of time being grateful and re-enjoying the items on your list and see what you’ve done. Remembering these will help you next year as you step into creating the new. If you’re with others, share what’s on your list…you’re successes and what you’re grateful for.
2. Let go of the Bad
The end of a year is a great time to decide to let go of things that are no longer serving you. It is us, our habitual thoughts and beliefs, that hold on to things. We can let them go when we choose. You can decide this time is sacred and powerful.
Pull out a new piece of paper. What do you want to let go of? Write down resentments, things that feel like failures, hurts, a habit, belief or way of being that’s not serving you. Whatever you want to let go of and release yourself from.
After you’ve finished writing, look at your list and decide if you are willing to let go. If you are, burn the paper. Decide that you are letting go and free. Watch the paper burn. I like to put the ashes into my garden to remind myself that challenges often are just what is needed to move into something greater.
3. Now CELEBRATE!
You are free to move powerfully into the New Year. Congratulations! It may seem too simple but it is the meaning we give something that makes it powerful and sacred. Give it meaning and power.
If you choose, you can start on your desires for next year. I like to give it some time first. Allowing myself to just be in that spacious and exciting place of possibilities and potential before stepping forward on New Year’s Day to create my vision for the New Year.
Congratulations on your wins and for who you’ve become. May 2025 be your best year yet!