Happy Holidays ,

2022New Year’s Eve is upon us and in that collective energy of reflection and anticipation I like to review the year that’s behind me.

I often light a candle and set my intention to view the year holistically to better understand its challenges and gains. I then recline and relax, allowing myself to lift like a bird and fly over the terrain I have covered in the year ending. I might do this chronologically either from now moving back in time, or from the beginning of the year to now.

Or the movement of memory might be back and forth, skipping around like a butterfly collecting pollen from a flowering bush.  I notice connections, I question things, allow thoughts, aha’s, answers, images etc.  I pause to ponder or go deeper, to update and revise my views.

I don’t write things down, though.  Not yet.  I’m not worried about forgetting because in journeying like this I’m not trying to solidify an understanding. Instead I’m allowing perspective to show itself in various forms.  I’m seeking a felt sense of the year, so I avoid explaining it all to myself – the mind wants to make it tidy, everything making sense – but I don’t really want that.  I want the wisdom of the year to show itself, rather than letting the mind tie it up in a bow.

That’s why I start my review by journeying instead of journaling.  I know I’m done when the year feels “of a piece,” instead of a lot of random experiences I had and managed to get through.

When the year feels like a circle instead of a time line, I stop. I let the journey sink in a bit before sitting up and jotting a few brief notes – a few key words or images that typify the wisdom and growth of the year as seen in my visioning.

I generally return to those notes and work with them in my morning contemplation; but even without doing that the journey itself is healing, cleansing and restorative as is.  

Though I most often do it New Year’s Eve, I’m doing my review early so I can share some of what 2021 was for me so you can see how it settles, transforms and carries forward in me. I know some of you will want to review your year too and may find my experience useful to your own process.

This year, interestingly, my images and experiences slowly gathered in related groups.  Certain words repeated and seemed to sum up my meander through 2021.  Several groups of experiences shared a “tone.”

Sorrow

For instance, one group carried a tonal feeling of Sorrow, experiences of sorrow.  During the year, I had a few health incidents that pointed to the need to release of old sorrows.  I also lost a couple of important friends in 2021 and grieving that sorrow was an unavoidable and very difficult part of the year as well.  

In addition, certain old sorrows became current again as new experiences stimulated what related to them.  This asked me to experience them anew – as who I am now, not who I was when they happened in the past. Seeing how differently I experienced them this year allowed a surprising and important updating of how I thought about and understood them in the past.  The old memories were up-leveled by new wisdom and understanding.

Strength and Balance

During my overview I saw many peaks and valleys, ups and down.  Many of us had that this year, didn’t we? And we know how it feels while it’s happening.  Turbulence that jolts us suddenly is never uncomfortable.  During it we’re often hanging on, hoping it’s over soon, wanting to be done with it.

In review, I saw they were not the most constant thing in my year (though they often felt like it, lol!)  There were waves of intensity and waves of release.  In retrospect, I could see a wise rhythm was in play and realizing that, I felt cared for by my life.  And I saw that as the year progressed I became stronger.  Not by soldiering on, but by surrender and vulnerable living.  And by treasuring and loving life instead of pulling away from it.  

My strength and balance in the face of difficulties grew into an impressive mastery in 2021.  In fact, looking back over the year I’m almost shocked at how strong I’ve become in the face of things that I would have struggled with before.

Cleansing

Cleansing was another theme of the year.  And while sometimes I was facilitating this actively, for the most part it was simply what was going on.  For me and many others.  So much left me in 2021, wow!  It just fell away.  Which means surrender was the main means of moving forward, of course.  In fact you could say Surrender is another theme of my year.  My understanding and ability to live in trusting surrender became deeply integrated into how my life unfolds.  That is an amazing gift that comes from the rhythm of peaks and valleys creating the necessity/practice of surrendering again and again.

Creativity

A third grouping of experiences could be seen under the heading of creativity.  It was one of my most creative years in a long time. Not only did I write and publish one and a half books this year, but there were many projects, joys and daily choices that were extremely satisfying, creatively.  In fact, the act of creativity was one of my most successful and enjoyable balancing tools.  In review, it’s apparent that my year was heavily endowed with satisfying creative moments.  It was truly a blessed year in this way.

Transformation

Finally, my year is typified by transformation.  Since 2021 was a five year, transformation was its name.  “Five,” most people say with a shudder, “is change in numerology.”  As though change is to be dreaded.  But I say 5 is transformation. Transformation is the opportunity of change.  Change has the power to… well… change us in wonderfully transformative ways if we learn to live in active surrender.  Looking back I’m humbled, excited and amazed at the countless ways in which I will never be the same, think the same, act the same or feel the same again.  That is an extraordinary gift of 2021.

So in closing, I want to shout a giant “THANK YOU 2021 for being all you were.” Thank you to those of you who were there for me in the ups and downs, thank you Spirit and allies and ancestors in the unseen world for your constant presence.  And thank you God for a world of wonder and challenge, of beauty and opportunity.  I am so very grateful to be alive to what each day brings.

Because of 2021 I am ready for 2022, cleansed, supported, surrendered, balanced and strengthened beyond measure.  And I’m more ready than ever to creatively and joyfully determine my new year, and a new world.

A fond farewell to 2021 and a big welcoming embrace to 2022,
Mayet MaHulili Leilani

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