Recently, someone asked me “Do you plan out your year in advance, and when do you do it?”  The answer is yes, I do plan out my year in advance (with plenty of space for spontaneity) and I do it in the fall.  In early September,  I map out the entire year.  October is usually a mix of excitement and existential crises, as I make sure that these are good, sound choices for myself and the women I serve, and make adjustments accordingly.

And then comes November.  For me, November marks the deepening of the roots of desire.  This is the time when I begin to truly step into the coming year – when planning becomes action and intentions mean everything.

This is part 1 of a 2 part post about creating what you want in the coming year.  

Part 1: Clearing space for goodness to flow

Part 2: How to find your unique flow for next year (find it here)

On we go…

When it comes to digestion, if we aren’t successfully absorbing nutrients or eliminating waste, there’s literally no flow.  And “backed up” is no way to be.  The same can happen in life when we aren’t letting go of that which has passed, or taking in the goodness of the present.  The flow stops.

With no flow, we feel stuck, confused, stagnant.  Emotionally constipated.

So how do we create space for goodness to flow?  How do we let go, while simultaneously embracing the beauty of now?  How do we feel less weighed-down as we step into our future?  Gratitude.  Gratitude allows us to pull the goodness from the moment and make peace with the past, creating flow for the future.

Gratitude is the assimilation of life’s nutrients. {tweet it}

When we slow down and truly give gratitude for all that we’ve been given – absorbing life’s nutrients – we create space to receive more nutrients.  Space for flow.  This is not about avoiding or ignoring challenges; it’s about giving a moment of appreciation for the goodness that exists, too.

In honor of US Thanksgiving, I offer you this Gratitude Prayer, from my heart to yours.

GRATITUDE PRAYER

Thank you, Mother Nature, for your bounty.
Thank you for providing everything we need
for our nourishment and pleasure. Thank you
for your self-love – your attention on regeneration
– so that we may thrive and live on. Thank you for
your immeasurable beauty and your unending
source of awe, delight, and comfort.

Thank you, Father Sky, for your protection.
Thank you for holding us near to Mama, and for
providing everything we need to sustain and flourish
here on earth. Thank you for your playfulness and
expanse, that we may dream of what is possible.
Thank you for your everlasting presence and your
endless inspiration of curiosity, play, and passion.

Thank you Elements, Animals and Plants, for your
nourishment, companionship, and reminder that
we must take care.

Thank you Flowers, for your sweet and loving
pleasure, and the gift of delicate beauty, so we
may remember to slow down and be present.

Thank you to our Ancestors for dreaming us into being.
Thank you for all that you sacrificed, in service of us.
Thank you for seeing what was possible, and for your
devotion to progress, so we may be here today, enjoying
the fruits of your loving labor.

Thank you to our earthly Mothers and Fathers for your
deep love, lessons, and sacrifice. Thank you for choosing
us and being chosen by us – the perfect parents to nurture
and challenge us in the exact ways that we’ve needed, to
be shaped for a life of growth and service.

Thank you, Children, for inspiring us to be more loving,
generous, and compassionate. Thank you for inspiring
us to think and act beyond ourselves, and to shape
humanity such that it will support your joy and thriving.

Thank you, Brothers and Sisters, for your camaraderie,
kindness, and generosity. Thank you for your desire to
connect, even when we are fearful of connection.
Thank you for your presence as we walk on this path,
and for choosing to be here at the same time, in this
human experience, challenging, supporting, and caring
for one another.

Thank you, Lovers, past and present, for your love.
Thank you for your pleasure, your attention on our
pleasure, and your vision for the greatest versions of us.
Thank you for the ways you have challenged us as mirrors
of our own parents, so that we may heal our family lineages
and dream of new lineages with you. Thank you for revealing
in us the places where we still believe ourselves to be unworthy
so that we may come home to ourselves.

Thank you Self, for choosing to step forward into today,
even though today is always uncertain. Thank you for your
curiosity and love for the people you love. Thank you for
your awareness that there is always a capacity for more
love to be felt in the world. Thank you for your deepest desire
for connection and harmony. Thank you, beautiful body, for
your innate self-love, and for doing your best with every
breath to regenerate and thrive.

Thank you to the Spirit of Oneness, that we may see that
we are one, reflections and mirrors, together for a purpose,
and that purpose is love.

Thank you.
I love you.
Thank you.

Up next, Part 2: How to find your unique flow in the coming year.