12 31 09 Welcoming the New Year: Gleaning Wisdom from the Past

Dear Readers:
As we complete another holiday season and another decade, I wish you all the best as you step into 2010. A common tradition at the beginning of a new year is reviewing the past and making goals for the future. This can be a very cathartic and productive exercise if done with compassion and love for yourself. It is so easy to judge the past with the wisdom you hold today. Remembering that the wisdom you have today is due to your history; the challenges, losses, victories, joys, sorrows, surprises, gains and all other experiences that have helped you become the person who is now reading this and open to change and growth. Being able to decide if decisions or habits are healthy for you is the gift of wisdom and consciously observing yourself. As you review this last year, (or decade) I hope you will do this with a compassionate and loving hand to yourself with the goal being to find what areas of your life that you enjoy and that serve you, your family and the community in healthy ways. Looking at the areas that are not pro-active and healthy are important as well and in this you become more aware to change these behaviors. As you set goals for this next year and your future, have these goals be realistic and able to do one step at a time. Goals that are not attainable immediately can turn into set ups for failure. Choosing to set goals that are attainable while working for larger goals can allow you to have continuous growth with success in your life. Healthy and attainable goals can lead to manifestation of your dreams. Parenting yourself internally allows for boundaries to be set, actions for a productive life and allows for serenity as you become led by your internal values and disciplines. Like a healthy and loving parent, you have the opportunity to see, hear and value yourself with compassion rather than self-deprecation and feelings of not being good enough. Honoring who you are today while continuing to heal, make amends for past wrongs, celebrating joy and the victories along your path can give you the gift of more serenity with love and in return this can reciprocate from the universe back to you. As you step into this next year I wish you a healing and loving path that starts from within and then radiates out to the world. Giving yourself the gift for forgiveness and honoring your ability to survive and grow can be the seeds for a healthy and wondrous life. May this year be a year of growth and serenity as you walk with the balance of recognizing both sorrows and joy. Until next week, take care.

Golden Willow Retreat is a nonprofit organization focused on emotional healing. Please direct questions to Ted Wiard, LPCC, CGC, founder of Golden Willow Retreat and clinical supervisor for Teambuilders Counseling at (575) 776-2024 or GWR@newmex.com.