January 9, 2024

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a 13th month in the year? One between December and January. A transition month in which to bring a close to tasks related to the previous year along with time to move into the new year. A month that is not attached to either year. A threshold month.

This past weekend I accomplished one of those threshold tasks. I defrocked the house of its Christmas glow, cleaned, and renewed it for these winter months. Major!

Earlier in the week I re-read my 2023 journals, which is always a beginning of the year ritual. I wrote thank you notes, but have yet to go through the Christmas cards to change addresses, where necessary, and I am sure there are follow-up notes I will want to send after re-reading the letters.

I moved into my new weekly planner and also a new book journal and cleared off my bulletin board, but I haven’t cleaned out any drawers yet, even though my sock drawer is a mess and the kitchen drawers feel cluttered and unorganized. How many jars of outdated spices need to be tossed?

I have had my first 2024 appointment with my spiritual director and have met with some of my directees, but I have not yet prepared the content for all of the January sessions of the writing group I facilitate. I prefer to be prepared at least a month in advance. Oh well.

I’ve made a list of people I would like to see soon, but have not yet made any dates. Nor have I made a necessary dermatology appointment, but I did have my annual physical in December. Check that off the list!

Well, you get the idea, and you probably have your own tasks that signal the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

I understand how rare it is to have complete closure before a new stage begins. The journey is continuous. Even as we grieve the loss of someone or something in our lives, we peek around the corner to an opening, a beginning, a suggestion, an idea, an entry, a new place on the labyrinth.

You may recall that my contemplative companion during Advent and Christmas was one of the Wise Men. (See my December 5, 2023 and December 12, 2023 posts) The Wise Men prompt me to think about the gifts I can bring to the world, but they also remind me about the gift of the journey itself.

Wise one,
  you who have come far, ...

Do not cease following that star,
  whose light you have seen at his rising. ...

You will kneel in unfamiliar places,
   you will uncover gifts.

And you will continue to journey, to search,
   to look with love-lit vision.

Under that star
   there will always be home,

always another road,
   and you will never travel alone.
       Steve Garnaas-Holmes, www.unfoldinglight.net

And so I continue to move from 2023 to 2024. One step, one task at a time. One day at a time, and I know I do not travel alone.

One More Thought: My Word of the Year

Last year my word of the year was “beloved,” and oh, how that nurtured me, and I hope enabled me to nurture others. For awhile I thought my word for 2024 would be “dwell,” but I now think it is a pair of words.

           Unfold/Enfold

Stay tuned to read how that knowing unfolds.

To learn more about discovering a word for the year, read https://wordpress.com/post/livingonlifeslabyrinth.com/1593

An Invitation

What has your entry into 2024 been like? I would love to know.