New and old
Despite all the fun, relaxation and celebration, I often find this time of year a bit difficult. All the possibilities of my life push themselves to the surface of my consciousness to be reassessed. Is what I’m doing the best use of my time, experience and interests? Am I contributing to the world in meaningful and satisfying ways? Am I a good friend, lover, sister, parent? I often come back from time away with a big graph in my journal, a timeline or chart of some sort, trying to sort through all the things I want to do, be and have, and figure out what to spend my resources (time, energy, money) on.
Then so often life just reasserts itself and my natural interests and habits fall back into place.
Here is an exercise I’ve used a few times with surprising results. It is a kind of map:
- allow yourself plenty of time and space. be conscious in your decision about where to do this and be sure you won’t be interrupted or feel rushed
- take a piece of paper, pens/pencils/crayons/paints or whatever medium you feel excited by at the time
- you are going to draw two maps. they could be totally broad (covering all aspects of your life and yourself) or on a specific topic (friendship, creative work, career, values etc)
- sit quietly in front of your paper and pens etc. take a few deep breaths and consider the topic you have chosen. consider everything that has happened up to this point, the major events and experiences you have had, your successes and failures, your learning, your process.
- you can start to draw and write whenever something becomes clear. your map can follow any kind of spatial plan – it might turn out to be a pie graph, a picture of a tree, a winding path or a timeline. illustrate and colour it, place emphasis and emotional content within the informative parts. create a page that gives you a holistic view of your process up to this point, how it has been for you in body, mind, soul and interaction with others.
- now repeat the same process for the future. how do you imagine this area of your life to proceed from here? what can you do? what do you need from others? how far are you willing to go? is there an end point? how will you know when you get there? what are the excitements in store for you and where are the parts that seem like hard work? what resources (inner and outer) will you need to take this journey?
Take a look at these maps after a few days. And again in six months, a year, two years etc. The ones I have created have been remarkably informative and really allowed me to see, at a glance, how far I’ve come and what changes I’ve made in my life. More than a journal or a photograph, they have captured an aspect of me in a particular time and reflected that back to me. This distance means I can have perspective on what is important and where I have been and am going and what it all means.
And when I talk about what is important, I don’t just mean how to be amazing and get heaps of cool stuff done in the next year. Probably the most important thing for me this year is to keep learning how to let the river flow, how to slow down and see everything in its completeness. Be alert for the truth of your needs and purpose and what will serve you most in achieving your purpose.
