New Year's Day - Guides, Magic & Meaning
New Year’s Day: A Time of Possibility and Reflection
New Year’s Day remains one of my favorite moments of the year. There’s something uniquely enchanting about the quiet excitement it brings—a sense of optimism and hope that doesn’t shout but softly asks: What could be? The possibilities pull me into a contemplative space, urging me to prepare myself, not just for the day but for the year ahead.
This week, I leaned into this ritual of reflection. I began with a quiet lunch alone—a simple act that nudges me inward. A visit to Barnes & Noble followed, a space where I’m reminded of how much more there is to learn. I picked up two tools for the journey ahead: a blank journal, ready to hold my thoughts, and a guided journal by Susan Cain, whose works Quiet and Bittersweet have profoundly shaped my understanding of myself.
I also turned to my field guides—books written by spiritual leaders and great thinkers—sources of wisdom that deepen my understanding of what it truly means to live and love fully.
The Power of Contemplation
In this sacred space of reflection, I connect with two profound truths:
The deep wisdom of those who have gone before us.
The deep wisdom within myself.
There’s a mystical quality to this process, captured by Rumi:
“I went looking for God and found only myself. I went looking for myself and found only God.”
It’s a reminder that wisdom, divinity, and purpose exist both within us and in the world around us, waiting to be discovered.
Holding the Paradox
Part of the work of this day—and of life itself—is embracing the paradox: to radically accept the reality of our lives, with all its privileges and limitations, while also taking full responsibility for creating magic (love +power + creativity + meaning.)
Reflecting on the past year, I see its dualities: life is daunting and difficult, yet dazzling and delightful. And so we ask what does one do with this truth that life is constantly achingly beautiful; that you will be in the pain of rebirth in one moment and the glory of it in the next but you cannot skip the labor pains on your way to something new and beautiful.
Victor Frankl, in his lecture On Conquering Transience, speaks to this beautifully:
“Paradoxically and ironically, the person who has found meaning becomes not only happy but conversely also eminently capable of bearing suffering…he can make sacrifices for the sake of a person, for God’s sake, or for a cause. Thus, he will not only be happy if he can perceive a meaning, but conversely, he will also be able to cope with suffering to the same degree.”
In the Middle and the Beginning of Things
I had two leftover flower arrangements from Christmas, both given to me by women I love. Parts of each were still alive and thriving; parts were dead and dried. I pulled out the dead and dry and replaced them with fresh flowers from Trader Joes and threw on some fun picks and sticks from my mother’s garage collection. This is a new day and a new year and you can’t start completely over because you are already in the middle of things. You can look inside to see what is alive and thriving and what is dead and dry. You can begin this day and every day centering in the wisdom of your very own self and the wise guides around you. You can begin to answer:
What is the magic that you want to make, that wants to be made in you?