February 10th, 2013 ushered in The Year of the Snake.
I don't think I really realized that fact when it occurred last winter; I was going through a lot of personal stuff and I think I missed the Chinese New Year altogether. I only realized it was The Year of the Snake a couple of weeks ago and had to laugh out loud: of course it was!
Over the course of the last year, I feel like I have shed multiple skins.
The me what has emerged as the year ends is very different than the me that started the journey and yet is more truly me than I have been for many years.
When we shed skins, we let go of old ways of doing things, old ways of looking at the world. What emerges is a shinier, healthier version of ourselves. That doesn't always involve career changes. It can be as simple as getting a better handle of your finances, cleaning out your closets, learning something new that always interested you.
Change can be interesting, but change can also be hard. Sometimes we search it out, and sometimes we hide under the bed from it until it drags us kicking and screaming out into the sunlight.
The biggest skin I shed this year was not deciding to leave my old career.
It was deciding that I didn't always have to be right and in control. I could trust that it was okay just to BE. And to be ME.
That is a good skin to shed.
January 31st we begin the Year of the Green Wooden Horse. Doesn't that sound wonderful?
The Year of the Wood Horse is a very lucky in Chinese Astrology. Because the Horse is lucky, expect a lot of lucky breaks, or at the very least, luck could soften the blows.
Now, I am not a big astrology person, but I do love the Chinese zodiac - it is so interesting! So I am looking for lucky breaks in 2014!
I was born at the tail end of the Year of the Tiger. Barry is a Year of the Tiger baby as well, which explains a lot of head butting around here at times.
When I read the following description about Tigers I had to laugh out loud:
People born in the Year of the Tiger always take pride in being different from others, and normally demonstrate their originality best in their homes. Their homes are typically filled with exotic possessions. It is no surprise that one of the Tiger’s favorite gemstones is the cat’s eye, but tigers also love the sparkle of rubies and diamonds. They like to spend money, and also to share it. They can be very impulsive spenders because they know they can at all times make moreGuilty!
So how about you? Have you shed any skins this year? Are you looking forward to the Year of the Horse? I'd love to hear! And if you know much more about the Chinese Zodiac than I do (and how could you not - I know so little!) I'd love to hear that, too!
Have a great day and stay safe out there!
