Year-End Review/Revival

Entering the New Year Empowered

One rewarding practice for continued momentum and preparation is the Year-End Review. This introspective ritual is a way for us to honor endings and beginnings by looking back at the year, with questions such as: "What went well for me this year?" This makes the space not only for gratitude, but also for us to gauge our progress with a kind eye. The Year-End Review is touted by many for its productivity benefits which might be the case, but I find it is as important that we ground within our values of self-compassion and kindness. I'll begin by laying out my Year-End Review best practices and most importantly how to make this a Year-End Revival. Why? Because the year doesn't end in January; this is simply the beginning of the season of Winter. Winter is a period of rest & renewal which calls for stillness, rest, and inner reflection. Does that sound conducive to our modern Gregorian Calendar's New Year- with its resolutions, readiness for new projects and goals, that high energy? No. Winter is such a vital period of the year. The symbolism of ending to begin again is the wisdom of loving life with all its sacrifices and transformations and of learning the incredible power we all have to impact the world. These themes and influences is what I will discuss here.

Looking back to look ahead

Let's cover the review of this past year with some writing prompts: What went well for me? What didn’t? and how do I feel about it? This is a great opportunity to ground again in gratitude. I've learned after three years of journaling with ÓS that my goals from the beginning of the year tend to be grand; I've often underestimated the time required to complete tasks or goals that I hadn't done before, such as the time it takes to write a book for example. This caused me to reflect on my year's goals with a sense of disappointment and at the same time has given me its greatest gift: clarity on the time and energy needed to progress my goals and ideas. This is why I love ÓS; it has taught me greater patience. It ensures my ideas do not die = Every week, month, and/or year I reflect and decide what I'm leaving behind and what I am carrying forward. One way I am helped in this endeavor of iteration is through Best Practices such as reviewing our seeds/ideas from the past and organizing and reflecting on their progress & next steps. By quickly parsing through our notes to re-note those seeds/ideas, we can easily refer back to them for organization and action: What can I progress now & what might need to wait? This is why the use of symbols and highlights are so helpful, alongside bookmarks, to denote themes and reoccurring ideas for their lessons and progression. The re-reading of our notes is a game changer in writing. This is where we can also think ahead: What would I like to carry forward? What would I like to leave behind?

I invite you to set an intention for this season of Winter specifically. With the idea that these three months are about prioritizing self-care, inner work, and deep rest. What is my intention? Winter offers us a great opportunity to incubate and progress personal goals. If you find yourself not having all the notes you would like for this review then I'd encourage you to start making highlights or even simply taking notes after certain experiences or convos with friends. This I find is at the heart of this practice of deeper listening.

The Origin of New Year

The history of the modern calendar is important to cover to understand the full picture of why we celebrate the New Year in January in the first place. Visit our Blog Post Here for that history.

In recap: We honor New Year in January due to the Romans who used this calendar to control their their military and empire. Prior to that, the New Year was widely celebrated on the vernal equinox.

In the 1570's, Pope Gregory XIII enlisted Jesuit astronomer Christopher Clavius to correct the miscalculations in the Julian Calendar set by the Romans, so that we would more accurately celebrate January 1st as the start of the new year. 444 years later and we still use the Gregorian Calendar.

This is all to say that the Calendar is an agreement - it is one of the most powerful instruments of control as it marks celebrations and grounds cultural & religious identity. To control the calendar is to control the view of time and ultimately what is prioritized by a people. The Gregorian Calendar is used now by nearly every nation on Earth. There doesn't have to be anything wrong with it, it's one of the most useful calendars clearly. (putting aside that we still need leap years to re-align it) Plus Its Roman, Greek, and Ancient East roots are worth exploring. What I highlight is that our calendar can be revitalized and itself realigned so that it connects us more closely to the cycles of nature and to higher virtues and wisdom. We do this through the 3 cycles: The Days, Months, and Year and their connection to the Classical Planets, The Lunar Phases, and the Zodiac.

The Themes of Ending and Beginning

One important reminder for revitalizing the year is that this is not about throwing away the old system, but slowly creating a new one, so that the old one loses its negative influence on us. It's important to keep enjoying the celebrations of "New Year" but simply to remember that we do not need to follow what is not for us. We can even still have New Year's resolutions in alignment with the sign of Capricorn, which this period falls on. Capricorn teaches us that we are tested on our ability to remain disciplined.

Why is this relevant? Every sign has different attributes to teach us. I highlight the Winter signs of Capricorn - Aquarius - Pisces and their symbolism of Discipline - Illumination - Integration to show how these three months can be used for our personal self development.

Consider how each month builds on the one before: What would we like to work on in this month of January? What would we like to illuminate and continue in February? What would we like to integrate so that we can begin anew in March? March is the real New Year, the season of beginnings. We do not have to be in a rush, especially since Capricorn promotes the value of continuously and calmly working toward our goals. Like bare trees in the winter snow, our inner roots are moving underneath what is cold, preparing to break through even stronger.

Intention: Iteration

In doing a Year-End Review I recommend giving yourself a couple days to do so, slowly, or on/around the Winter Solstice. This review does offer us so many benefits as does revisiting our notes on other periods of renewal such as on the New Moon and on Saturday/Sunday. What will I continue to iterate? to develop from day to day, month to month, year to year?

If you would like to learn more about symbols and best practices, check out our ÓS Journal.

ÓS Journal

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