Blessing for a New Year

photo by Brad Peacock

Blessing for a New Year

There are so many thresholds

to step through on a given day.

May you choose the doorways

that lead to kindness and peace,

speaking only when you can say

the most loving thing. Face each

fear, doubt, and wish for your life

to be other than it is right now—

these are the hurdles that pile up

like old newspapers, magazines,

and junk mail in the hallways

of the body, until you learn how

to empty it all out, let in only

what frees you this new year,

what keeps the heart clear.

We have so many thresholds of choice to cross in each moment, times we can consciously choose kindness and peace over anger and habits that no longer serve us. As we enter a new year filled with uncertainty, perhaps a blessing like this might help us to embrace only those things that we can control, which are mostly housed in our own minds and hearts. Often, we don’t even have much of a say over the thoughts that float into our heads, yet we always have a choice about what we do with those thoughts, how we relate and respond to them. One of my yearly rituals is to find a word that represents my intention for the coming year. And this year’s word seems to be threshold, perhaps to remind me that I get to decide which doorways I want to step through—I get to decide to invite into my life only the people, work, places, and actions that keep my heart clear. But what do I mean by a “clear heart?” I can only say that I feel most spacious and clear when I am living in a way that aligns with my values, following practices like meditation and prayer, which reinforce my daily intentions. Each morning, I pray to be used to make this world a kinder, more beautiful, and more loving place. And while there are days when I don’t feel I’ll ever measure up to that wish, I now see how even our smallest acts and gestures can change lives. I trust that a well-placed thank you, or kind message, or simple smile, can alter the very texture of someone’s being. Let us all walk with this faith through the coming days, choosing as often as we can only those doorways marked Kindness, Compassion, and Presence.

Invitation for Writing & Reflection: Write a blessing for yourself, or someone you know who is struggling at the moment. What are the thresholds you want to step through in the new year?

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