I’ll start with the facts: it is the 187th day of 2022
Of the year 2022, we have 178 days remaining.
We have slipped past the halfway mark!
The middle of anything (ice cream pint, action movie, commute, workout class, prayer) tends to expand. We are too far from the beginning to sense any momentum and too far from the inevitable, procrastination busting, pressure of an ending.
Perhaps you’ve already felt the impact of the year and you want to chill out. More likely, you’re just getting started.
So today I thought we’d take a moment to sit with the middle. We’ll find the threads that bought us here and aim a few silky stems of vision into the future.
For many years, I let time slip away without any ceremony. I’d literally look out from my haze in August and wonder where all those days went. Now I love having this little tradition to pause and reconnect. If you were a paying subscriber this time last year, you’ve done this exercise with me before. This one (like all good traditions) is similar but different.
Write down your answers or simply sit with them in your mind. Either way, give yourself some space for contemplation without jumping into self-critic mode.
This is an exercise in awareness, we don’t need to arrive at a crazy conclusion. The act of taking stock provides a channel and direction for the forces within us and around us to move towards.
The Questions:
What has the first half of your year looked like?
See if you can describe in both concrete terms (place, occupation of time, etc) and abstract ones: textures, colors, sounds, even physical sensations.
Can you identify the foundational through lines that have sustained throughout the year?
How have they come together to shape your present moment?
Are there any lessons you’d like to acknowledge?
Find at least three elements from the past six months to be thankful for.
Describe the themes of your current state. Again, look to concretes and abstracts.
If you were in a lake, would you be floating, swimming, treading or something else entirely (water skiing, rowing)? There may be a blend of experiences.
Overall, do you find the present moment to align with the pull of your spirit?
Are you engaging with actions and thoughts that reinforce the flow that feels most aligned? Provide a few examples.
Find at least five elements to be grateful for in this present moment.
Is there anything you are ready to let go of, before heading out into the next 6 months?
What would you like to carry forward into the next six months?
From there, what themes are you excited to develop in the next six months? Try to keep these simple, know that the universe will fill in the details. If you’re finding this difficult, again look to the abstract and describe desired sensations.
What version of self are you looking forward to meeting at the end of 2022? Keep these figures full of wide open spaces, ones that you can actually imagine becoming.
What actions do you want to sustain or implement to usher you there? If you don’t know now, treat the following months like an experiment of joyful curiosity.
Describe at least three things you’ve done this year that you’re proud of. Really revel in what you have accomplished. This part of the process is paramount to continued expansion. You are telling the divine forces: this is what I love and when I receive it, I embrace it with grace and appreciation.
In short, it is: Yes, thank you.
A phrase that can be carried in your pocket, anywhere you go.
Thank you for partaking in this midway moment with me! May we all experience a lush and divinely guided second half of 2022.
xx
James
p.s.
Fountain Within, my newest meditation with The New Moon, is up on Spotify. It accesses the limitless energy within the heart, so we may follow it as a guide to our larger experience. Click here to listen.
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