Let's set Intentions for New Year 2020

Contributor: Vibhuti Agarwal
Team Member, Youth Alliance

As we ready ourselves to welcome the new year, there has been a long tradition to make New Year Resolutions. Most of us experience them with anxiety and frustration as the resolutions soon become a haunted past which one is unable to keep up with. This year, we invite you to instead set intentions that when held with love, often tend to stay with you, motivate you and serve you good. Here’s a list of 7 Intentions to live through another year contributing to a more harmonious and healed world.

1. De-clutter: One of the most useful intentions to hold and do is de-clutter your space. Your home, work station, the car, the stored away trunks and bed boxes. When we let go of “Stuff”, we are creating space for “ Energies” to enter. Secondly, we often find long lost treasures, the photo albums, gifts, cards and letters that bring in tons of happiness and memories, which increases the overall well-being. This also helps to surface material things that we never knew existed and helps to reduce the consumerist culture in our times today. Who needs to buy new Winter Wear, when a treasure hunt throws up great old sweaters from the trunks. Also, if you have stuff you don’t need any more, they might be great gifts to pass on to friends or donate them to someone. Who doesn’t love a newly possessed item with stories attached to it.

2. Slow Down: In today’s times, when we have all the possible machinery and technology at our disposal, we still feel a lack of time and space for our mental peace. We are so consumed in our work/studies that we often miss to raise our heads and actually experience life. This coming year, we invite you to challenge the need to always keep busy and keep going. Instead we invite you to set an intention to take more time off from work. Make time for a yoga or a health retreat, take a vacation you have been planning, or even simply stay home and relax more often this new year. We all can serve the world and ourselves, with just merely working less!

3. Grow a Plant: Raising a child teaches oneself, a hell lot about being a grown up! Well, we are not asking you to necessarily raise your own child in the coming year, but we invite you to consider contributing to a new life in the form of a plant. Start with a pot in your balcony. The simple yet powerful aura being created by a single plant can be magnificent. The relationship shared between a human and a plant can be transforming. Don’t worry about letting it dry when you travel for long periods. The intention is to begin with one pot at a time. If it doesn’t stay long, start another plant. And if you are already a pro, you would either start your own Kitchen Garden and also help others to do the same.

4. More Human Contact: In the times when we find email and WhatsApp a better and more comfortable medium to converse, we invite you to go out and have more human contact this year. Set intentions to catch up with people for more one-on-one conversations this year. Invite people over to your home for a home cooked meal, or go together for a walk or even hit your favourite coffee shop. You never know what a deep heart conversation can do for you and others. Especially now when we all are getting divided in our political opinions, its important to hold space for someone you disagree with, just because conversations can heal the heart in ways nothing else can.

5. Choose a Self-care Activity: In the last few years, the term Self-Care has caught many people’s attention and even become a buzz word. Self- Care simply means the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress. Anything that gives you that kick, is an important self care activity for you. This new year, find what brings you calm during stress, what makes you happy. It could be cooking your favourite meal, art, dancing when no one’s watching or even writing letters. Whatever it is, set an intention to do it regularly. It could be everyday, weekly, bi-weekly, anything that helps you keep sane in this world. A simple ritual to reflect each day through silence, writing a journal or a gratitude practise could serve as a powerful self care tool in the coming year.

6. Spend more time in Nature: Most of the times we don't realise the power of being in touch with nature and what it serves for our mental and emotional well-being. This new year, we ask of you to spend more time in nature, versus the man-made malls or concrete coffee shops. You don’t need to go to the hills every time you want to get close to nature. Just take a walk in the park near by, slow down to observe the small tiny creatures often invisible to human eye, get up early and soak up the morning sun. Choose to do more picnics, instead of going to an indoor restaurant next year.

7. Experiment your Relationship with Money and Technology: Narratives around money and technology has boxed us in our own imaginations. Thoughts like I need to earn more money to be secure and settled in life, I want to be updated about the latest series and movies on Netflix, I got to have more Instagram followers.. are all leading us into a possibly unhappy and unsatisfied life. This year we invite you to step out of your comfort zone, whatever that looks like and experiment a very different thought. How does living on very little saving sound as an experiment? Or logging off from netflix or social media sites for a while? Whatever your fear or addictions might be, are a great place to start. You know because nothing new was discovered while being in the comfort zone. 

We hope these will give you some ideas to chew on while you welcome the new decade. Wish you a very Happy New Year 2020. Whatever you decide to do, set up intentions or resolutions, we pray they guide you and support you in sailing through this year with grace, joy and health.