How do I come up with my theme for the year?

At the beginning of 2018, I gave up any form of resolutions and made the decision that picking a theme for the year felt more appropriate for me.

At that point, I decided that 2018 was going to be the Year of Ultimate Alignment.

This came from a belief that there was a lot of internal work for me to do that year. My intention was to re-calibrate my internal compass and strengthen my trust in my own discernment and decision making. I deepened my yoga and meditation practices. I participated in some other-worldly "team building" activities. I spent a lot of time in nature. And I did my best throughout the year to checkin with my own internal guidance system before taking action.

Then there was 2019. Last year was the Year of Surrender.

Whether I truly wanted Surrender to be my theme for the year or not is hard to say. But it was very clear that's what was happening, and I went with it. I surrendered to Surrender being my theme for the year. I left my leadership position in a company I previously believed was an organization and the people I would work with for the rest of my life. I went through a hellacious experience with the people renting my home which became very costly financially, mentally, spiritually and emotional. And ultimately, I spent a lot more time listening, saying no and letting go than I did of actually accomplishing anything. Weirdest year of my life. But it also left room for me to fall in love with an incredible woman in a situation that most people could never understand. In a sense, we both were fully surrendered to what was possible against the odds, and it's been a beautiful adventure ever since.

That brings us to 2020. The start of a new decade.

There's so much pressure to pick the perfect theme for this new year after how on point the last two were. Actually, I'm just messing around. There's no pressure at all.

I'm sitting here with no theme at the moment, and I'm perfectly okay with that.

The beauty of these themes and the reason why they are a year long journey is that they take time to learn, develop and fully integrate. Allowing these themes the proper time that they need breathe and grow feels like putting on a new piece of armor. They become part of my identity and who I am.

And so, even though I don't have a theme for this year on January 4th (gasp!), I fully trust that the theme will reveal itself soon.

Thanks to my Alignment armor I am certain that I will be able to find the exact right theme and say no to everything else. And thanks to my Surrender armor, I don't feel the need or pressure to force something to hit some arbitrary deadline or outcome.

I know that this year's theme will come from me listening deeply, being observant to what life is showing me and rejecting any good themes to leave space for the perfect one to walk into my life.

How do I know if this is the right path for me?

I woke up on this lovely Saturday morning with plans of doing one thing and then ended up doing something completely different.

Part of that emergent plan took me into a small, bustling local bookstore. In the process of leaving with 5 books to add to the ever-growing pile of future reading material, I found a new quote that I very much enjoy.

"Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt." — John Muir

It can be extremely difficult at times to trust that the path that we are on is the right one. There's no way of knowing the consequences and repercussions of making a left turn instead of a right turn 47 days ago. I could have won the lottery or gotten hit but a bus with every other multiverse in between. So why sweat it?

That quote opened up this internal dialogue of inviting in more trust. Of course this is the right path because I am on it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be on this path. I'd be on different one.

Also. Bonus points to this emergent Saturday for allowing me to experience over a dozen animals in their natural habitats including dolphins, elk, deer and some badass hawks and birds. I have this loose theory about a dozen animals correlating to a day well spent.

Before I even knew that this quote existed, my path was making room for the dirt paths. Just another example of the future me laying the groundwork for the present me. How fucking cool is that?