New Year’s Day! Every year begins with this day, a day full of hope and expectation and for some headaches and regrets too. But why have we developed a tradition that things can be changed by how we approach each new year? In my life I have now seen 60 of these days some I recall but most came in with a blaze and fizzled out before the end of January! As I look back at those lost opportunities and failed resolutions, I ponder what do I want to do differently this year?
I do not have any blinding light insights, but I do have a sense of wanting to change! It is not that I want to throw everything away and start off on some wild adventure, but rather I want to hold onto the good I have found, discard the dross (identifying this could be what this year is really about for me) and growing deeper and stronger in my faith, my understanding of myself and my relationships with those peoplewho are or will be significant in my life.
So as I face the new year ahead I have resolved to start by understanding an area of knowledge that I had previously rejected. A dear friend of mine has pointed me back to it recently, it is the enneagram. I rejected it previously because somehow it uses maths and logic to try to interpret what I feel is emotions and intangible inner stuff. Also the majority of writing on this subjecttends to be very ‘Greek’ in its origins and has little basis in my faith. But as John E points out in his Restoration of the Heart series we actually need both the psychology and the faith based healing to truly deeply heal ourselves. So this year I need to learn something new from the psychology school of thought.
I have sent for Richard Rohr’s book on the subject and will start upon its arrival which Amazon tells me will be next week.
I will try to report my understanding here and maybe log somenew growing and deep healing. I certainly hope so.
thegardensofhealing 