Reflect & Renew: Your Guide to Year-End Insights
Reflect & Renew: Your Guide to Year-End Insights
A decade ago, I embarked on a profound Year-End Reflection, an experience I believe some of you also might find valuable. Over the years, I’ve assembled a diverse set of thought-provoking questions inspired by esteemed practices such as The Year End Ritual by Sarah Susanka, Mapping the Past: A Path to Moving Forward by the IFS Collective, and Unravel Your Year by
.Acknowledging the challenges many of us have faced this year and the pervasive suffering in the world, I understand that engaging in this reflective journey might not feel straightforward. However, I would like to invite you to join me on this voyage—a chance to discover new perspectives and insights as we bid farewell to the old year and embrace the possibilities of the new one.
In a world rife with upheaval and division, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the prevailing chaos. Amidst these tumultuous times, practices like a Year-End Reflection offer a glimmer of hope. I personally find solace in this reflective exercise, especially amidst such challenging circumstances. Despite the chaos that envelops us, we have the agency to shape our narratives. This practice can serve as a sanctuary—a haven where we can pause, reflect, and rediscover our sense of purpose and direction. Through such ritual and introspection, we tap into the resilience of self-reflection and the strength it brings—an invaluable antidote to the disarray surrounding us.
Year-end transitions and new beginnings offer opportunities to derive meaning from our experiences, allowing us to extract valuable lessons from the past and embrace new journeys. Whether subtle or overt, transitions carry transformative potential, infusing our lives with the chance for renewal.
Should you decide to participate in this process, you're encouraged to personalize it according to your preferences and schedule. Whether engaging alone or with others, feel free to incorporate elements that resonate with you—be it a candle, a comforting beverage like tea or hot chocolate, a snug blanket, and/or soothing background music. This practice can be completed in a single session or extended over several days, catering to your pace and inclination.
When I do the practice, I respond only to the questions that deeply resonate with me at this juncture every year (I provide various options below for individual selection). I typically conclude it near or around the New Year, and refrain from revisiting it until the subsequent New Year. It's remarkable how numerous insights and guidance have surfaced from the thoughts I've penned down, often providing wisdom along my journey, even after I initially forgot about jotting them down.
I also find it fascinating scientific support exists not only for the benefits of journaling, but also for mindful reflection and setting intentions. Psychiatrist Regina Pally, in her work The Predicting Brain, describes this phenomenon:
“According to neuroscience, even before events happen, the brain has already made a prediction about what is most likely to happen and sets in motion the perception, behaviors, emotions, physiological responses, and interpersonal ways of relating that best fit with what is predicted. In a sense, we learn from the past what to predict for the future and then live the future we expect.”
The first batch of questions is aimed at helping us to summarize the events, emotions, and encounters that shaped the past 12 months. By intentionally concluding the previous year, we carve out space for the potential of the upcoming one. The next step entails opening our hearts, minds and souls to embrace the possibilities for the new year. It's not focused on goal-setting—although you might have some in mind—rather, it's about exploring the feelings and aspirations that shape your vision for the unfolding year.
The Past: Lessons, Triumphs, Growth
• What comes to mind regarding how I spent the last year?
• What felt good, and conversely, what felt less fulfilling?
• Reflecting on events: What moments felt particularly meaningful—be they positive, negative, ambiguous, significant, completed, or started? (Feel free to review your calendar or photos for reminders; noticing forgotten details can yield insightful revelations.)
• What revelations and insights emerged over the last twelve months?
• What served as sources of inspiration for me?
• What in the last year was I most grateful for? Most proud of?
• What challenges and disappointments did I face, and how did I confront them?
• Reflecting on achievements, passions, and joyful moments, how did they impact me?
• What literal or metaphorical journeys did I undertake?
• In what new ways did I express myself or discover new facets of my being?
• What did I embrace during this time?
• What did I consciously release or let go of?
• How did I evolve or my experience change throughout the year?
The Present: appreciating, celebrating, letting go
• How can I integrate the lessons I've learned in the last year into my life?
• What possessions, habits, or mindsets have I accumulated that no longer serve my growth and well-being?
• What was once fulfilling or useful but has now naturally reached its conclusion?
• Compile a list of things I am ready to let go of. Some may require a process of grieving, others celebrating, forgiving, or simply bidding farewell.
• What endeavors feel more significant or important to me at this moment?
• What did this last year leave me yearning for?
• What pursuits now seem less significant or necessary?
• What achievements, personal growth, milestones, and/or connections need to be celebrated?
• What personal resources, skills and practices can I depend on as I move forward?
• Have there been any notable synchronicities recently, and what deeper meanings might they imply?
• In what ways am I evolving and transforming, and how can I approach this transformation with gentleness, acceptance and support?
• What specific aspects of myself am I nurturing or focusing on at this juncture in my life, nurturing them with love?
Future: The journey to come
• How do I envision and what broad experiences do I desire in the upcoming year? (Consider overarching themes rather than specific details. Adventure might encompass activities like scaling a mountain, venturing into unexplored forests, or engaging with new people. Similarly, rest and relaxation mean different things for different people). What inspirations or motivations can I evoke from these aspirations?
• Where do I want to go, literally or metaphorically? What are my wishes, desires, directions, possibilities?
• What are the core 3-5 things (or more) I’d love to happen in the coming year? What do I want to experience, see, build, share?
• What parts of myself do I want to nurture in 2024?
• If I could peer far into the future, what dreams, aspirations, or creative endeavors would I like to create or engage with in some form?
• What are my wildest and most audacious ideas and dreams?
• If I were to distill all my aspirations and yearnings into a single statement, voiced from the highest part of myself, what would it express?
• Is there anything I will need to remove to move forward?
• What will I need to say no to? What do I want to reduce, do less of? What baggage do I no longer need to carry? (Take some time sorting out what is in my inner and outer backpacks)
Messages from the Future
Now, envision yourself a year ahead: pen a postcard, letter, or message to your current self.
What advice or messages do you wish to impart? Whether it's offering guidance, words of encouragement, or reminders, what reassurances, warnings, or expressions of love would you like to convey? Remember, reassurances and reminders that you deeply care for yourself can be incredibly impactful and empowering.
Japanese Daruma Doll Practice - What is the direction of your heart’?
As I get ready to celebrate New Year's Eve at Tokyo's historic Senso-ji Temple, I'm eager to share the importance of the Daruma Doll in Japanese New Year customs. These unique dolls, crafted from paper and fabric, are used to symbolize letting go of past troubles and negative energy. In a symbolic gesture, these dolls are often burned at the end of the year, signifying a release to the earth of all the accumulated burdens and making room for new beginnings. At Senso-ji, there's a special hall dedicated to these Daruma Dolls, which are also sold in stalls all around the Temple. They serve as a reminder of the importance of perseverance and staying true to our personal goals and aspirations.
Another profound aspect of the Daruma doll lies in its design: it can be knocked down but always returns to an upright position. This feature embodies the powerful message of the Japanese proverb 七転び八起き (nana-korobi-ya-oki), which translates to "Fall down seven times, stand up eight." It symbolizes the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity. Tonight, when I receive my Daruma, I will mark one of its eyes with a pen, setting my intention for the year. The other eye will remain blank, to be filled in at the year's end. Regardless of the outcome of my vision, the Daruma will ultimately be burned, symbolizing release. Throughout the year, my Daruma will be a visual reminder of my set intention, and in challenging times, a nudge to watch it resiliently stand upright will serve as an inspiring representation of enduring strength and determination.
Sending abundant love and warmth to all, with wishes for a peaceful, joyful and healthy 2024! See you soon!
Perhaps the art of harvesting the secret riches of our lives is best achieved when we place profound trust in the act of beginning. Risk might be our greatest ally. To live a truly creative life, we always need to cast a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where new beginning might be ripening. There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over. - John O'Donohue