Setting your intention for 2022

We stand at the start of the new year of 2022. Milestones in time are ideal moments for reflection and for setting intentions that lead to change.

The past two years have challenged every one of us and our world. With each passing wave of the pandemic, the tensions in communities locally and globally are increasing. Polarization is intensifying. In this academic year to date, hardly a week has gone by where the Greenspon Center where I work has not been contacted to respond to an act of hate in our community or in our regional schools.

While at times, the personal and individual response of deleting our emails, turning off the news, and isolating ourselves feels like the best path to calming our fears and maintaining our balanced and best selves, the greatest of religious teachers and authors instruct us that closing ourselves off is not the answer.

Elie Wiesel taught “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

Mahatma Gandhi taught “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, and your values become your destiny.”

And Reb Nachman taught: “If you won’t be better tomorrow than you were today, then what do you need tomorrow for?”

The reality is that the change we seek, needs to start with us so consider setting your intention for 2022.  What is your goal for yourself and the world in the coming year?  How do you intend to be in relationship with yourself, with your neighbors, colleagues, family, friends, and the world? What word do you want to define the next year for yourself?

Here are some suggestions:  Wisdom * Growth * Birth * Serenity * Patience * Light * Warmth * Clarity * Community * Gratitude * Adventure * Justice * Peace * Strength * Abundance * Transformation * Loving-Kindness * Awe * Joy * Understanding * Balance * Renewal * Simplicity * Healing

Find your intention for the year and practice it, so that it can be come not only your destiny but that of those around you.