Letting Go and Becoming: Reflections at Year’s End
The Mirror of Transformation
As I stood before a centuries-old statue of Kali, a Hindu deity, watching people bring offerings chickens, goats, and other sacrifices…I felt tears welling in my eyes. The sight was overwhelming, not just for the fate of the animals, but for what the ritual represented. My mentor noticed my tears and gently reminded me: “The pain you feel starts within. What triggers us is a mirror to our own journey.” Kali, after all, is more than a symbol of endings. She embodies both destruction and creation, the cycle of death and rebirth. Despite her fierce image (arms dangling from her belt, weapons in her multiple hands, her leg on a man on the floor, and her tongue hanging out), Kali ultimately represents love in its rawest, most transformative form.
“Love is not just light; it’s also shadow.”
Reconciling Love’s Paradoxes
For years, I struggled to understand love in all its complexity. Love is not just light; it’s also shadow. It’s beginnings and endings, suffering and bliss. It’s the force that perpetuates life…sometimes gentle, sometimes distant. Bees, for example, are a beautiful metaphor for love’s process. They nurture, pollinate, and move on, ensuring the cycle of life continues. Without their coming together and moving apart, flowers wouldn’t bloom, fruits wouldn’t grow, and life would wither. You may find yourself grieving and grateful at once. Both are sacred. Love invites us to hold the paradox and trust that the rhythm of release and renewal is the rhythm of becoming.
The Ebb and Flow of Becoming
This rhythm of beginnings and endings is also the rhythm of becoming. As we approach the end of a year, a year that’s been challenging for many, marked by loss, deception, and upheaval, we’re invited to reflect and let go. We’re invited to embrace the rawness of transformation. This season calls for both grief and celebration.
Even in darkness, there’s been light: people have spoken hard truths, stood up to adversity, shown resilience and love, and embarked on journeys of courage and determination. We are all in the process of becoming, embracing the pain and beauty and everything in between. Transformation requests both tenderness and courage. The following simple practices can help us honor both as we close the year.
3 Simple Practices to Close Out the Year
1. Journal for Five Days
Set aside 10 minutes each day for five days to journal: write or record your thoughts, alone or with a trusted confidant. Ask yourself: What have I felt this year? What have I experienced? What do I want to let go of? What do I want to welcome?
2. Breathe Deeply
Practice big, slow belly breaths (in through the nose, out through the mouth) three times, twice a day. As you inhale, welcome love and your fullest self. As you exhale, release what no longer serves you: fear, doubt, stress.
3. Purge with Intention
Find something in your home, bag, or pockets that you no longer need. Give it away, recycle it, or throw it out. Let this act symbolize letting go and make it a regular practice to release what doesn’t support your growth. The rhythm of endings and beginnings is the rhythm of becoming.
Bringing It Together
December is a sacred time to reflect and let go. This blog is my offering to our collective journey…a space to explore and contribute to our personal and shared becoming. As we close this potent year and step into a new one, may you find courage to let go, boldness to become, and love to carry you forward.
