2020: Gratitude & Release

Nancy Rae

December 31, 2020

Happy New Year!

Are you excited that a new year is upon us? I don’t know of anyone who isn’t ready to leave this year behind and move forward to 2021. As 2020 comes to an end, I invite you to take some time to reflect upon the past year.

A simple ritual of gratitude and release can help us create closure before moving forward to a brand new year of possibilities. Without creating space for closure at the end of each year, we move forward dragging bits and pieces of unresolved, unintegrated feelings with us. That can get pretty heavy after awhile! It also doesn’t set us up for success.

If we want to start the year with a truly clean slate, then it’s helpful to develop a practice of appreciating the ways that life has gone well for us at each year’s end and letting go of anything that no longer supports us in the direction that we wish to go in the new year.

Follow these simple steps to engage in a tangible way of expressing gratitude and release as we say goodbye to 2020 and prepare to welcome in 2021.

The ritual consists of two exercises that can be done in one sitting, or you can split them up and do them separately. If you want, you can do the gratitude exercise one day and the release exercise the following day.

Gratitude Exercise

This year has been full of challenges to say the least. However, before we let it all go, it’s a good idea to cast our net to catch the aspects of what brought a smile to our face or served our highest good this year. 

1. Gather materials for your gratitude ritual: paper, pen, and an object that symbolizes positivity for you such as a candle, flower, plant, a picture, etc.
2. Find a peaceful place where you can sit comfortably. Set your candle or other object next to you.
3. Close your eyes and take some slow deep breaths, letting your inner attention rest on the good feelings that the candle, flower, or other object represents for you. Soak up any feelings of peace that you feel.
4. Allow your thoughts to wander away from your object to experiences throughout the past year. Let any thoughts that bring up negative emotions pass on by like floating clouds. Focus instead, on anything for which you are grateful. If negative emotions do arise, see if you can find something positive about the outcome that you can be grateful for. Was there a silver lining or a lesson in it for you or others that was positive?
5. Open your eyes and jot down as many instances of gratitude that you can think of. Include even the tiniest nuggets of gratitude, especially if you are finding it hard to feel grateful...a hot cup of tea, an ocean breeze, fall-colored leaves, and so on.
6. Notice how you feel after completing this gratitude exercise.

Variation for next year: Use a jar and small slips of paper to write down gratitude that you feel all throughout the year and store them in the jar. Next year on New Year’s Eve when you do this exercise, you can read through the slips of paper in the jar and savor all the instances of gratitude that you’ve experienced throughout the year.

Release Exercise

After noticing and appreciating the golden nuggets of the year, even if they are few and far between, we can now let everything else go.

1. Gather materials for your release exercise: paper, pen, matches, fireplace/firepit or a large cooking pot.
2. Find a peaceful place where you can sit comfortably.
3. Close your eyes and take some slow deep breaths.
4. Allow your thoughts to wander to any negative feelings or thoughts about unpleasant situations, not-so-great habits that you might have, limiting beliefs, and negative patterns that you have carried with you this past year or even longer.
5. Open your eyes and jot down words or phrases that express all that you’d like to release and not carry with you into 2021.
6. When you feel that you have included everything that you want to let go of, get your source of fire ready. (Note: if using a cooking pot with matches, you may want to take it outside)
7. Burn your list of things to release by tossing your paper into the fireplace/firepit or carefully lighting the paper inside the cooking pot and allow it to burn completely—you may need to light it more than once so that there is nothing but ashes left.
8. Notice how you feel after completing this exercise.

Variation: If you have any magic flash paper or wish paper, this exercise can be even more powerful and satisfying. Consider purchasing some in advance for next year’s ritual. 

“To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears,

the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit.”

~Jack Kornfield