Looking Forward, Looking Back
~ New Year's Resolution Guide for 2011~
Dadrian
What do Julius Caesar a 2-headed god and
Jesus' circumcision all have in common?
Answer: the New Year!
I got to thinking about the New Year. Why does it start in the middle of… well, actually, a couple of weeks into… Winter?
Come to find out that the timing of our New Year has something to do with Julius Caesar, a 2-headed God and Jesus’ circumcision! Read on for a brief history of the New Year and a guide to how this history can help you reflect and renew for 2011…
Prasa, Moscow Winter
The New Year: Beginning of the Winter Season
Our calendar is based on four distinct seasons created by the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Our New Year roughly marks the beginning of Winter, a time of completion, dormancy and reliance on the year’s harvest.
1. Where did you sow your seeds in 2010? What did you harvest from these efforts?
2. What comforts and feeds you during the Winters of your life? What do you commit to do in 2011 to feed and support yourself better?
3. What is coming to completion in your life? What energy-suckers do you need to trim out of your life in 2011?
The New Year: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Julius Cesar first established January 1st as New Year’s Day in 46 B.C., dedicating it to Janus, the pagan god of change, transitions and new beginnings. Janus had two heads… one facing the past and the other facing the future.
1. What from the past do you need to let go of? What do you choose to bring into the New Year?
2. What were the biggest events for you in 2010? What lessons did you learn from each? What part of you grew stronger?
3. Who do you want to be in 2011? What’s the vision for your personal and professional life?
oO-Rein-oO Hope
The New Year: Redemption, Limitless Possibilities
Our New Year also coincides with ancient Christians’ Feast of Circumcision, 8 days after the birth of Jesus and the “first spilling of blood” that began mankind’s redemption and forgiveness of sins.
1. Where have you sold your soul to the Devil (to be less dramatic, ‘compromised your values’)? What must you do to wipe your slate clean to start anew in 2011? Who do you need to forgive? What do you need to forgive in yourself?
2. What higher power do you believe in? What can you do to draw more strength from your faith in 2011?
3. If you were starting completely anew today with limitless possibilities, describe the things you long to do. Which of these do you commit to do in 2011?
RSS Feed