New beginnings

Today is a new moon – new moon equals new beginnings.
Traditionally in yoga (particularly in the Ashtanga practice) practitioners have a rest day or ‘moon day’ for the new moon and full moon. When you start to look into the reasons it makes sense to observe the moons ebbs and flows, to live according to nature, as just like the ocean and tides are effected by the moon cycles so are we.
The new moon represents the end of an exhale, and the beginning of a long deep inhale. A time to contemplate our lives and if necessary reset the direction in which we are going.
I love a new beginning, I love all it represents and the feeling that at any point we can start fresh and work towards a goal. Being a very goal orientated person I feel the need to always have goal on the go, both long and short term, and I aim to reach them so I can set another one! But what happens when you feel like you never really get there? Like you are constantly working towards something, but keep taking one step forward and two steps back? Well lately this is where I find myself more often than not. In many ways it is an affliction of being a perfectionist, in some respects it is being content in the present moment and not willing to push too hard to change things. I have moments where I feel I need to compete in a triathlon, run a marathon and train as hard as I can as often as I can, times when I have the urge to go to India and live in an Ashram for a year, fleeting thoughts that I should loose 10 kilos, dye my hair black and become a waif like yogi (don’t worry I really don’t have the energy or motivation to ever make this a reality!) but when is enough enough? At what point do you recognise that some goals are good for you, while others are detrimental? In light of this new moon I am spending some time collecting all my goals and placing some in the ‘perfectionist’ pile and others in the ‘get off your bum and attain them’ pile, and I invite you to do the same! There are some things I really want to achieve, but I have been procrastinating and cruising along never really getting there – this is frustrating. It is a massive waste of time having a goal that you can’t be bothered reaching, either push yourself to make it happen or let go. At the same time it is a huge drain on your emotions to have a goal which is unrealistic, unhealthy and out of reach. How to tell the difference? You know it in your heart, if a goal makes you feel anxious, nervous and frustrated then it’s usually unattainable, and that’s OK all you need to do is modify it, reassess and downscale. A good goal should make you feel excited at the thought of reaching it, you should be able to plan for it and enjoy the journey (I’m sorry I know that’s a total cliché). As we move through this new moon cycle and aim to gather, collect and sort through our goals I’ll leave you with the serenity prayer to help you along your way…..
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference xxx
One Comment
Amen!!!! So totally logical when you see it written down!!!! We beat ourselves up so much to be this perfect person, and really all we do is put ourselves under so much pressure it’s just insane. Lets learn to be reasonable and realistic in our expectations but most importantly enjoy everything every day xoxo