Monday, January 30, 2012

The Year of the Dragon




This week there has been a strange vibe – I am not sure if it is the Chinese New Year, the Buddhist New Year or if it is I am simply in Goa. But either way it has felt, well kinda weird. I feel like I have not really touched the ground this year, I have been floating above everything in a place that feels foreign and slightly disconnected. I guess after the Kalachakra, I may have underestimated how I would actually feel. I was looking forward to coming to Goa – sun, sand, chill out, daily yoga and practice, you know, all of those good new year intentions. I managed a few things on the list, but like most new year intentions many were forgotten about in the first week.  So it is only now, nearly the end of January where I am starting to take a good hard look at my life and figure out what the hell 2012 will be all about. 
It is a hard life....
The beauty in the life that I have at the moment is the freedom – freedom of choice, financial freedom of no debts, freedom of no real responsibility except for myself, but like I have written before with freedom comes fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of no regular pay check, fear of making decisions that will have bigger long term implications (the list is endless really) But I still opt for freedom over anything else any day. I am fortunate to be in this situation and every day grateful of the wonderful life I lead.  I mean seriously, as I write this I am hearing the crashing waves of the ocean just outside my beach hut doorway, my travel companion is out photographing the stunning sliver of new moon, we will be woken at about 5am to see sea turtles nesting.....maybe watch the sunrise over the coconut trees before our day begins. Hard life really.  Yet still I am plagued by the new year bug and what 2012 will be about for me. 

I read about what the Chinese New Year of the Dragon will bring for 2012 – it is one of prosperity, of hope, of many good things. I am excited by that as I sit on the edge of the year with no real idea on what lays ahead. Daunting, exciting and mind blowing. I do not have a plan. But somehow things work the way they do, you meet interesting people, you mind begins to tick with options and opportunities and before you know it, you are mapping out what your December will look like.  I am not quite ready to go into the finer details but I am starting to see the year ahead and it looks as exciting as the last. Bring on 2012 – I hope your year is as exciting as the Year of the Dragon predicts.
 

As many of you know we are heading into the Year of the Dragon. This magical creature enters on the 22nd January. The Dragon is the most sacred and powerful sign in the Chinese Zodiac...so anticipate a year that is creative, exciting and over the top! It is said that the Dragon year is an excellent time to start a business, get married, have a child or take incredible risks. The Chinese Dragon is celebrated as wildly generous, overly benevolent, and extremely lucky. The Dragon symbolises royalty, wisdom and prosperity. It is also said that the Dragon is able to magically transform itself into any type of creature, and can overcome any and all challenges.

Sascha