So Long, Farewell...!

Did you know that today is called, "Good Riddance Day"? Good Riddance Day comes just before the new calendar year begins as a time to get rid of unwanted paperwork. Cities all over the U.S. set up community shredding for people to bring all their papers for instant disposal, shredding, and recycling. 

What an awesome way to end 2015 and a gorgeous concept for bigger good-byes! What is it that you need to get rid of these final days of the year? What issues can you say good-bye to--once and for all--so that the year ahead will be more free? Are there patterns you need to eliminate in order to create NEW in your life?

It's a great time to signal the Universe your willingness to let go of old ways of being. Clean out a closet, organize your desk, put your old photos in date order--anything that symbolizes GOOD RIDDANCE to obstacles and tasks that always seem to be standing in the way of your desires.

Go big by deciding to be done with situations that no longer serve you. Practice saying N-O over the next 3 days to the things that drain your energy. Dare to speak truth "even if your voice shakes." Choose one relationship you are ready to change and begin right now to shift it. Turn in your resignation from that job you despise, or at the very least, brush up your resume and start sharing it.

What can you say, "So Long!" to this day of Good Riddance? What needs to get set to the curb--emotionally, mentally, physically, even spiritually--for the garbage collector to take away? Last week, I started making a list of old patterns and mythic stories that continue to play in my head from childhood. You know, lingering lies like feeling small and insignificant and thinking that says I'm not good enough. I'm so OVER these old, worn-out stories, I'm ready to say, "Good Riddance!" I'm going to collect them into a dusty cardboard box and hand them over to my angels to shred. I'm going to trust the Universe to recycle all the energy they've been draining from my soul so that I can focus on the most juicy, joy-full truths of Who I Really Am.

Listen closely to your heart. What are the items that are ready to be chucked out of your life today? What's weighing you down? Don't let the fears and tears of "I don't know how...." get in the way of today's task. Be done, once and for all, with those niggling issues that stand in the way of the fire within you. Say, "Good riddance!" and make room for awesome!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

...who's the fairest of them all? Queen Grimhilde in the fairy tale, "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs," had no problem looking right into her magical mirror, expecting to hear that she, indeed, was the fairest of all the land. Yet, over the years that I've taught classes and facilitated workshops on "The Language of Passion & Purpose," my students find mirror work to be one of their most challenging assignments.

What is it about looking in the mirror that has them "all shook up"? One would think that finding good things about ourselves in our own reflections would be a cinch, a piece 'a cake. It's actually not the expectation that we'll hear we're the fairest in all the land that makes us nervous. Quite the opposite. Most all of us have been so programmed--by nearly everyone in our world and almost every aspect of the media--we've been so brainwashed that we hear only the echoes of judgments when we stand in front of a mirror.

The echoes are so well-rehearsed (and, likely, well-believed) that we can't remember when they originated or from whom we first heard them. We go along with them so blindly that we think it's just our voices up in our heads telling us we're too much of something (too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall) or too little of something (not pretty enough, not fit enough, not young enough, not old enough). Our lists of too-much-too-little are endless!

So, to stand in front of the mirror is to come face-to-face with how we don't measure up. Rarely do we put the brakes on the nonstop babbling that comes from our thoughts to change the direction of their flow. We don't tell the judgments to sit down and hush up. Nor do we give the little voices in our hearts who know we're a-okay a chance to get a word in edgewise.

That is, until now. Take a minute to stand in front of the mirror sometime today. Look for the beauty of who you really are (or, Who You Really Are). See for yourself what other people see in you. Look back to see who is really looking back at you (♫♪ Listen to the Browns sing, "I was looking...").

Speak out loud the non-judgmental observations you can make about what you see. If it helps, just state the facts.  For example,"I have round, dark eyes." "I have wide, curvy hips." "My tummy is soft."

Once you've gifted yourself with factual, nonjudgmental statements, see if you can follow them with some silent, loving gazes. Look at yourself and notice details as you send every part of your body some nonjudgmental love. Imagine all the work, all the fun, all the challenges your body has undertaken throughout your life.

Send all of your body gratitude as you stand looking at yourself in the mirror. If judgmental thoughts begin to creep into your head, just shoo them away. It's not their turn!

Take a few minutes today to face yourself in the mirror without judgment and without rejection. Don't be shy! If Queen Grimhilde can expect to be called the fairest in the land, what's a few minutes of sending yourself loving gazes?

And, if you want to learn more mirror exercises, go to Day 1 in my book, "Me, Myself, and I ~ 28 Days of Creative Self-Love." I'd love to see you there!