Dreary January
I have decided that January needs a new first name. I don’t remember it ever being my favorite month, but there must have been one because my daughter was born in January many years ago. That would have been a joyful January, and that is the name I shall return to the month.
I don’t think it’s an uncommon phenomenon, the January doldrums. We have just come through the longest nights and often the darkest weather. The holiday busyness is over and life returns to its usual pace with, we often think, nothing to look forward to. I’d decided some weeks back, however, that I wasn’t going to go through that dreary time again. I would see if I could change my mindset about January, and it was working until, believe it or not, I began my two week Christmas vacation from work. Then I was hit with this gray mood. “Why?” I asked myself.
Three days it went on and each night I had annoying dreams and would always wake up feeling frustrated. I soon realized that the dreams had a theme. In each one I was continuously trying to get somewhere or something without any success. I was always the one in the dream who was trying to control and organize everything, but what? The only thing I could think of was that I’d been procrastinating working on a project I was in the middle of. (I’d actually been looking forward to having time to work on it, but you know how that goes sometimes. You procrastinate because you’re afraid you’ll find out your idea won’t work. Anyone else familiar with that?)
The Universe Answers
On the third night of my slump, I was on author Cheryl Richardson’s website. She has a fun way to get a card reading on her site. You click on a star and a card from her deck of Grace Cards pops up for you. I don’t often try it, but I figured I could use a message. The card that came up was “Dance.”
Gosh, I thought, that seems familiar. As I read the message on the back of the card, it sounded even more familiar. I have this deck myself, and I realized I’d pulled this card weeks ago. In fact, it was still up on my refrigerator because I’d felt it was such an important message to remember. (Ahhh, there are no coincidences!) The card’s message was to keep moving forward even when you can’t see the outcome. Believe and have faith and dance with grace. (I just love messages from the universe.)
The next morning I picked up a book that I’d left unread for awhile. To catch myself up, I reread the last page before I’d stopped, and there was the same message but in the form of a poem. I remembered that I hadn’t quite understood the poem before, yet now it was like it had been translated just for me. The poem’s theme was that it is belief that allows us to get through the doldrums, a belief that what we imagine our life to be is waiting for us and we just need to keep moving forward.
So I’d like to pass on this message that even in the darkest times of our year, let belief carry you through. Take action, move forward, reach out to what you desire and believe that all will be as it should. I discovered recently that January is named for the Roman god Janus. He is the god of gateways and doorways. I am going to envision this January as the doorway to new possibilities and adventures. Join me in giving January a new first name, Joyful January!