Here we are at the beginning of another New Year. Last year at this time, we looked forward to 2021, believing it had to be better than 2020. I don’t know about you, but I have decided that it is important for me to focus on accepting and making the best of whatever comes my way. As our theme for January is Living with Intention, I have given some thought to what that might mean for me.

One practice I have noted among some of my colleagues is a daily listing of three things for which they are grateful. Gratitude, as a regular or spiritual practice, helps many people stay above the pit of negative thinking or depression. The benefits have been affirmed by medical and scientific research. It takes true intention and discipline, though. The benefits reach beyond oneself to family and community, making gratitude an act of compassion, as well as one of personal worth.

Being intentional about gratitude often leads to another practice which I try to embrace, mindfulness. Being mindful helps me tune in to beauty and goodness that surrounds me. Sometimes this is in the world of nature and sometimes in the people I am close to. Mindfulness calls me to recognize how I am connected to that which is within me and around me.

January calls a lot of people to make resolutions or set goals. Those are often made of our fondest wishes to do or be better. The focus then is on what we are not doing well, or where we fall short of our idealized self. Resolutions and Intentions are often considered to be the same thing. We are familiar with the adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

What if we considered the difference between self-improvement and self-knowledge? Living with intention takes examining how our thoughts and actions match our highest values.

Intentional living is living with integrity: Integrating what we believe with how we respond to the world. In this time of tremendous chaos and confusion, it is not easy to stay grounded in who we truly are. Perhaps our work for this month is to make space in our lives for reflection and reconnecting with our truest self.

I invite you to let go of the desire, and pressure, of setting self-improvement goals that may evaporate by spring, to make room in your life to remember who you really are, how you are connected to the goodness and beauty of life, and what about you is a gift to yourself and others.

In Love and Hope,

Rev. Alice