Wholeness Healing Today


Put Life in Your Years

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abe Lincoln

It is time to ring in 2009, saying goodbye to 2008. We may be glad to be moving on or we may be experiencing disbelief that yet another year has passed by us. At any rate, it is the beginning of another year and always a good time to evaluate our past year, assess whether we lived by our internal priorities or if we let the outside challenges move us away from this. And isn’t this a bit of what we work towards when we set resolutions at the beginning of the year? It is a reassessment, a decision that perhaps we need to discipline ourselves a bit more, or acknowledgement that we strayed off the track of our own inner truths. It is the time to say where we really wanted to go this past year, or how far we wish we would have pushed forward. It is a time to acknowledge what we did accomplish and assess that as well.

I know the very word “resolution” can put people off. It seems a bit like saying, “I am going to start that diet on Monday” only to be off of it by Friday when I go out to eat. However, I would challenge you to look a bit deeper than this. Look at your own internal desires and values.

Consider how and what you need to do to align better with your internal guidance. Look at the balance in your life and how it affects you and your relationships. Look at your relationships. Are there good relationships surrounding you? Look at your life and how “in balance” it is. Could there be better balance, more time for relationships, better relationships, more time for you to take care of you? After all, relationships certainly can be a big part of putting life in your years. It is always good to look at those significant relationships and consider how they could be better.

Laughing and playing is certainly needed for balance. Hopefully your 2008 had time for laughter and playing. Giving to others is another part of balance. This could be helping out a friend or someone you don’t know or a community volunteer project. What will matter at the end of the year and what will not? Look at any unfinished business from 2008, unresolved issues, problems, or conflicts. If you have any unresolved difficulties, set up a plan to work through these. Any movement in working issues and problems out is a chance for inner growth. So how is the life in your years? And how will the life in your year be in 2009?

During these economic times, it is a great opportunity for us to look at our lives and the “riches” we possess. We may not have the money that would make us “feel rich” but perhaps with less money to spend on “things”, we will, in fact, come face to face with the real riches in our life, the people, the relationships, the time spent with ourselves.

Fast forward yourself to January 1, 2010. What will be most important to you in how you lived 2009? Of course, it will depend on what 2009 may bring. Maybe 2009 will be a life without challenges, but perhaps it will not. What if someone significant in your life is no longer with you? What if your health takes a turn in a surprising way? Look at what will matter then about 2009. Yes, it is good to think about getting debt paid down, maybe getting a second job, getting physically in shape, or giving up those self-harming habits. And it is also good to remember that all we really have is this moment. Choosing to spend our moment wisely and with personal integrity that aligns with our inner truth will ultimately help us to live with no regrets. Hopefully in 2008 we learned some important things about ourselves and we grew a bit more in wisdom, compassion, and love. These accomplishments will only help us put life into 2009. Wholeness Healing Center extends a Happy New Year from our heart to your heart.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  • Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
    Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner

  • Janie Pfeifer Watson, LICSW, is the founder and director of Wholeness Healing Center, a mental health practice in Grand Island, Nebraska with remote sites in Broken Bow and Kearney. Her expertise encompasses a broad range of areas, including depression, anxiety, attachment and bonding, coaching, couples work, mindfulness, trauma, and grief. She views therapy as an opportunity to learn more about yourself as you step more into being your authentic self. From her perspective this is part of the spiritual journey; on this journey, she serves as a mirror for her clients as they get to know themselves—and, ultimately, to love themselves.

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