Every step you take should be a prayer. And if every step you take is a prayer, then you will always be walking in a sacred manner. -Oglala Lakota Holyman
On this eve of a new year, we pause in quiet reflection. We may recall blended moments of both joy and sadness. And only with hope can we even consider the monumental task of facing another year. For some, this past year was extremely challenging with loss and change and disappointment. And for others, taking leaps of faith and listening to instinct led to changes and transitions, at first uncomfortable, but settled in now by year’s end. And by stepping into 2019 we commit to another twelve months, another try.
The boots pictured here are from my July 2017 trip to Montana. My cousins took me there just after my momma passed when I was sad, sad to the roots. They gave me the gift of that trip, so unexpected, so needed. And by being in Montana I was able to be in the loss and the missing and the sadness. In my mind’s eye I kept seeing brown cowboy boots with a turquoise speckle. On the first day I did not find them. And the next day, in the same store, there they were. Mine.
My boots are placed in a spot in my house where I can see them every day. They remind me of moving forward, of next steps, of faith. Every day we have a big giant choice to make – whether to move forward or to turn those boots around and head backwards or even worse, set the boots in cement and get stuck and wonder what if, why, how. Sometimes we do not always get the answers right when we need them. But they will come. The reasons and the whys will come. In time.
May the New Year bring you peace and calm. Be brave to make and accept changes, take chances – may you feel buoyed in your attempts to move forward. May you learn from the year just passed. Take what you can of the positives and place them in your heart with gratitude. Of the heavier things, the challenges – take what you needed to learn, recall all that you gave and leave behind what mattered little or is ready to be let go of.
For tonight, clink a glass, say a prayer, give a blessing. And leave your boots right by the door. So tomorrow you can welcome 2019…with hope in every step.
~ a story yet to tell... 