I am writing this on the morning of New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow will be the year 2022. It seems impossible, as I still feel like I am just a kid at times, playing kickball in the street during the 1960’s, or doing gymnastics on the front lawn of our home on Long Island, until of course, I look in the mirror. It is there, with that strange older woman staring back at me, that I see how the illusion of time, in the physical world, becomes a blatant and harsh reality during our human journey. We may gaze at the younger generations and long for their energy, zest, and enthusiasm for life. We may wish our bodies were more svelte and stronger. We look back at the time in our lives when we were in our prime. We believed anything was possible. We could climb mountains, run for miles, and play and party till the wee hours of the morning.

Somewhere there is that younger version of ourselves still alive and well within us. It seems each New Years we make our resolutions, and among them are usually things like, lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier foods, take chances, try new things, or embark on new adventures. We may think if we do, we can retrieve some of that “get up and go” that seems to have slipped away from us. All of those are worthy goals and important in order to live a better more productive life.

Yet, God had a reason for having our souls inhabit a biological form that would grow old and eventually die. There is an evolution and maturation that takes place for our souls as we move through the various stages of our lives. When we are younger, our actions take front and center in our lives. Many of us are so busy “doing” that we don’t normally have time to ponder the reasons for our existence and the spiritual purpose for which we decided to reenter the earth plane. Our egos are in full gear and sending us spinning around a merry go round trying desperately to grab the brass ring that we hope will bring us the success and happiness we long for. This is a time for most of us, though seemingly frenzied and chaotic, that will set the stage for a more still, silent, and contemplative life as our bodies slow down, and we may be forced to simply, “be” more and more of the time. It may have been a happy time or a difficult one, but whatever our experiences were, they were what our souls needed to evolve and fulfill our individual and collective purpose here.

At first, we may fight against the effects of time, but eventually we may have no choice but to honor our limitations and choose a different way of living. Depending how we choose to view this time in our lives, we can either feel as if we are winding down and finishing up this life, or we can decide instead that it is a new beginning, and a new adventure. The adventure, however, is gratefully filled with more stillness, and time to spend in the beautiful temple of our soul’s light. We can be a force of good, a voice, even one that speaks without words, that teaches about love, not fear, and a powerful catalyst that will create change in the world simply by “being.”

From the stillness within, we can also emerge with great ideas, inspirations, hopes, and dreams. The heavenly music that may have remained dormant within us may now be given the needed inspiration to come forth. The light of our soul can become brighter by focusing on the infinite being that we are and making a commitment to find any and every way possible to share that light with the world. If we have children or grandchildren, we can teach them about what we know, what we believe, and all we have learned on our journey here. By doing so, we contribute our wisdom to the next generations who will also face choosing to live in fear or in love. We can teach them that they don’t have to wait until they are old to live a spiritually directed life that is filled with fun, adventure, and joy.

When my dad was forced to retire in his fifties due to a heart attack, it seemed like he was a bit lost for a while. Yet, he wasted little time in trying to find a way to express his inner light and creative God-like energy. He tried making ships in a bottle, then macrame, and finally painting. He was not particularly good at showing love to his eight children, but as he began painting, he started gifting to each of us works of art filled with his energy and love. They were actually quite beautiful as well. All eight of us have numerous paintings from Dad hanging on our walls. He may be gone but his legacy continues for all of us through the strokes of a brush on a canvas.

We all have music within us we have yet to play. Now that we have more time, we can explore the passions that light us up and fill us with joy, we can write our memoir to leave for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, which my mom did when she was eighty years old. We thought we knew everything about her. We didn’t and are so blessed to have learned how much more magnificent, strong, and loving she was than we already thought. We can learn to play an instrument that we’ve thought of doing for years and create music that can touch the hearts and souls of others.

If some of you reading this are still young and raising small children, I hope you will be inspired by what I am sharing and make a New Year’s resolution to spend more time just “being” with your children amidst all the doing. Perhaps, teach them to meditate and spend time meditating and praying together. We might ask them questions about what they think about the world around them. We can learn so much from the little ones who still have a close attachment to the spirit world from whence they came. The wisdom of their souls is right there within them waiting to be called into the light of this world and shared innocently and poignantly.

I’m sure there may be some of you that are struggling with pain, adversity, and challenges, as I did, that are shaking your faith and wounding your heart. Please know, that it is not about simply enduring and wishing away our adversities that is most important, but how we choose to learn and grow from them. Seeking answers from our teams of light will be a resolution that can change the entire direction of our lives. We may find that through our adversities, we discover our purpose. Through the lessons we learned, and the beautiful soul we found ourselves to be, we can help others do the same.

So, as we head into the year 2022, let us put our spiritual goals first before all the rest of the stuff, which I myself will attempt to do as well, like losing some weight, exercising more etc. We may not know exactly what our spiritual goals are, or how to access them. That’s ok! Our teams of light are waiting for us to ask them for guidance, and they will immediately step up and help us. However, remember that we must ask and give them permission to be more visible in our minds and hearts. They must honor our free will. If we turn away, they will patiently wait with love and support. If we ask, we will be amazed at how clearly, we can hear their guidance.

Happy New Year to everyone. May we have a healthier and more peaceful year to come, and may we live each moment of our lives in love and service to ourselves, our loved ones, our friends, and the world.

Namaste!!