The New Year dawns and the “what is yet to be” awaits us. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

This quote will be the first entry in my journal for the year. Can you imagine how it would feel to live with this as your daily practice? To be able to look at yourself and pronounce the things which drive you crazy as your “old nonsense,” as just simply “that nonsense.” You could discover the freedom available in not taking yourself so seriously. Releasing all the self-editing, all the selfjudgment, all the fear-based responses, the incessant worry over what doesn’t exist, regrets, doubt, guilt as “just nonsense” would change your life. No energy wasted, no drama played out, no self-destructive response. You could simply and sincerely say to yourself, “oh, it’s just my old nonsense” and get on with your life. You may not yet realize it, but you have the power within you to do this.

Jesus tells the disciples, “When you travel, don’t take a walking stick. Also, don’t carry a bag, food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake their dust off of your feet”. (Luke 9:3-5)
He told them to do this because he knew they could and because it would lead to a more beneficial outcome. It would bring good to them. Isn’t Emerson saying the same thing? If things don’t go the way you want them to, or if you have temporarily been consumed by negativity and an unwelcoming state of mind – leave that mental state behind…shake the dust off…pronounce it as “that old nonsense” and move on. Do it quickly and then forget it and when we do everything in our life is better.

Jesus, our way-showing Brother, and Emerson have put the light touch on changing our minds. Jesus invites the Disciples to travel light – he is saying, “don’t let your attention be divided or distracted by the things you carry in your mind and on your heart” – leave them behind – take only what is essential, your spiritual nature (clothing),
keep your attention focused on the moment at hand…and when it’s time to leave that moment do so effortlessly. I love most what he says next: “Tomorrow is a new day; write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

We all know that this way of living frees the body of stress, the mind from bondage, and allows the Spirit to soar. Could it be this easy? It can be. Our Unity teachings give us the necessary tools to make these shifts of mind quickly and easily. First, deny the truth and power of those “absurdities.” If it’s helpful for you, this is how I do it: I practice my favorite denial in this way – I look squarely at what I’m thinking, assume all responsibility for my current level of thought and then I say: “This has no power over me. It’s not real, it never was.” I like Emerson’s way even better. “I refuse to be encumbered with this old nonsense.” Next, I shift my attention inward and make contact with the peace in my heart and, at the same time, move to higher ground in my thoughts, with a statement like this: “There is only the Presence, power and love of God expressing in this moment.”

Realizing that the new cannot be seen until the old has been set aside, Emerson then reminds me to be present in the “now,” to move on quickly and forget whatever I thought my encumbrance was, in the realization that this moment is the best moment, in the best hour, of the best day of the year.

These principles work when we work them. Truth prevails when we allow it to take the foreground in our consciousness. The power to choose Truth over “nonsense” is within us. In the newness of 2012 let’s strengthen our capacity to exercise this unfailing power and choose to bring forth the highest and best for ourselves and for all others.

May your New Year be filled with blessing upon blessing, and may the dreams you hold in your heart of hearts be made manifest in your life.
With love,