Happy New You

"If you know that all things change,

there is nothing you will try and hold on to."

Tao Te Ching

As we prepare to let go of 2016 and welcome a brand new year, it can be a good time to reflect upon what has unfolded in our lives during the past 365 days. Perhaps we had goals and intentions for 2016 that didn't come to pass, or came to pass in ways that we couldn't have imagined. Perhaps our year was filled with unexpected challenges that caused us to re-examine the way we live, and make changes that we once believed we could never make, bringing more happiness and peace in the process.

If we look clearly, our life often goes, not according to our wishes but according to an unseen Force that often takes us in directions that we could never have imagined going in. Though these avenues are often scary and unpredictable, in the end, we look back and see that it was through these same challenges that we were able to grow and expand as human beings.

As the New Year approaches, many people will be making resolutions to change their lives, and while these can be constructive, most of these resolutions will be broken in just a few weeks, leaving us feeling like failures for not having been able to keep them. But what if we began our New Year by simply accepting ourselves as we are, with all of our apparent foibles and weirdness, and by accepting life exactly as it is? What if we embraced every unexpected change in our life with the surety that it is happening for our highest benefit?

In this acceptance of ourselves, we may find that we can relax and open to the natural unfolding of our lives, and the effortless destination that is reached in every moment. In this relaxed state, we find that everything unfolds with easy precision, bringing us exactly what we need at the time that we need it. My wish for everyone reading this; that you find the courage to surrender to That which is unfolding your Life, and to trust that at each moment of 2017; you are exactly where you need to be, doing exactly what you are suppose to be doing.