Traveling Light

If we insist on remembering and dwelling on the sins of others

then we keep them in their sins

But if we release our hold on those sins

they are forgiven and a new person emerges

                                                            John Shea

 

 

A new year

we say

we insist with great fervor

is for new beginnings

 

it is a time for resolutions

for affirming what we will do

to create the

new improved "me'

 

and so we stride forward

full of good intentions

to stop smoking

or drinking

to exercise more

to read  a good book

to be

a new version of ourselves

 

but a new year is not just about grabbing hold of the new

it is also about letting go

it is about knowing what we need to leave behind

 

what pulls us back

weighs us down

and often we label this something as 'sin'

 

it can be our own

or that of others

but it is heavy

so heavy at times, we can barely take

that first step into newness

 

As we enter back 

out of the world of holiday

into the world of daily tasks

and short days

and long nights

 

may we leave behind the hurts and fears

resentments and failure of the past

may we  simply put them down

realizing that we really don't need them 

for the journey

and travel light