Ringing In A Spritually Rejuvenating 2019
Often times around the end of the year, people scramble to review what they’ve accomplished. They’ll post their moments on Instagram and list out resolutions for the coming year for themselves, such as, places they’ve traveled and people they’ve met. And there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the end of the year by celebrating life. But it seems we often focus on ourselves and on achievements that we can post about or display. Some may feel they missed out on the year because they didn’t travel as much, accomplish what they wanted professionally or personally. We try to compare ourselves to others as a marker of accomplishment only to feel perpetually disappointed and without proper contentment.
The honest truth is, this will only bring you down and increase your sense of imposter syndrome and that you’re totally behind in life.
Social media can often throw us off from our own personal goals and distract us from our internal as well as spiritual accomplishments. We may not post about it but we have all come a long way somehow. Did you improve on your mental health? Did you learn to be more patient? Did you learn to acknowledge your own weaknesses and issues you’d like to work on? The smallest recognition should be regarded as a step forward for a healthy new year.
We may feel we need to do something grand to ring in the new year in order to feel like we did something worthwhile. But who says spending time by yourself can’t be rewarding? Read a book, bake something, find a movie. Even if your baking is a total fail, your book is kind of a bore and the movie wasn’t too great, laugh it off and work on discovering something else. To ring in a new year, is to ring in self discovery and improvement.
Prayer and meditation are also ways to bring in the New Year with calm, peace and good vibes. I know, sounds boring right? But hear me out. Prayer isn’t solely just going to church or rolling out your prayer mat. In addition, having quiet time to yourself to communicate with God and the energy around you to reflect on yourself is also a form of worship. To serve others and help those around you can be a form of worship. See if any shelters or soup kitchens are in need of supplies and if people need any help. Find out if you can help clean up after celebrations like these guys did. It isn’t the most glamorous New Year’s party you can share on Snapchat but it’s definitely the most rewarding.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to stay in your lane but be the fastest in that space. You’ll only improve yourself and become a better version and a positive influence to others. That also includes spirituality. “Wow, they go to the mosque or volunteer at church all the time, I must be a bad person.” No, absolutely not. If you feel you’re spiritually lacking after looking at someone else, acknowledge why that is. Do you feel like you’re missing something in your life? Did that other person seem more at peace and content with themselves? Take time to make a small goal for yourself to improve. Instead of just saying, “I’ll pray more, go to the mosque more and read Quran more” link those steps into an ultimate goal. “I want to have a better friendship with God. To achieve that I will start to increase my daily prayers, attend the mosque x number of times, and start reading Quran x times a week.” Monitor your progress and perhaps open up to a close friend or family member about how you’re trying to improve.
Here’s to safe, successful, happy and healthy 2019 to all!
