10 Mantras For The New Year

“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”- Lao Tzu

This is a quote I posted on my Instagram, and my when my friend Shiri saw it she told me I should use it as a mantra. I had never really used a mantra before... but that’s what I did. And when I’m stressed, I play this quote in my head, and ground myself and bring myself back to the present moment. 

“Keep your soul rooted in gratitude and your branches open to blessings.”- Mary Davis

When I started my gratitude journal as my last New Years Resolution, I never imagined what a difference it could make. Even on your worst days, forcing yourself to remember just a few things you’re grateful at night, lets you go to sleep with a little more peace.

“One small crack does not mean you’re broken, it means you were put to the test and you didn’t fall apart.”- Linda Pointdexter

I don’t know one person who hasn’t undergone some hardship that has made them feel broken. But it’s so true. We’re all still standing. It’s like when you drop a glass and it miraculously doesn’t shatter. 

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”- Nelson Mandela

I used to feel weird when people would tell me I was brave or courageous. Because I certainly didn’t feel that way. I felt scared and confused.   But reading this quote makes me feel better about it. How many things have you been scared of this year, but pushed through anyway and survived? That really is courage.

“Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness.”- Katherine Henson

I’m personally a very sensitive person. I’m an empath. I care what people think. When someone around me feels pain, I feel their pain. And this is both a curse and a blessing in my opinion. It’s a double-edged sword. Because the words of others can hurt me so easily, but my ability to feel their emotions makes me someone who wants to be there for them. So while I need to harden my shell and learn to let the opinions of others bounce off, I also need to learn to see my sensitivity as an asset as well. 

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”- Maya Angelou

I read this quote for the first time this year, and I found it so powerful... because it’s so true. Out of all those things, people won’t remember words, they might not remember actions. But they definitely will remember how your words and actions made them feel. They will remember you by how you made them feel.

“I am blooming from the wound I once bled.”- Rune Lazuli

Look back and see how you’ve grown from each experience you dealt with this past year. You learn, you learn and you learn, and you never stop growing. Thinking back to your hardships, think about how you might have grown and what you might have learned from them instead of how they hurt you. Picture flowers instead of scars. 

“Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They both shine when it’s their time.”- Unknown

We’re all at different places in life, some of us are a little ahead, and some of us are a little behind. But are we really? Is there really a timeline for life? Everyone is so different, and it’s okay if you’re not going at the same speed that society expects you to go at. None of our paths will be the same. Just because yours is different doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

“In the end you tried, and you cared, and sometimes that is enough.”- Unknown

If your intentions are good, but the outcome isn’t, sometimes you have to give yourself a pass. You just have to, because if in your heart you know that your thoughts were well-meaning, you did everything right. 

“Do not seek love. Be love. Then you will never be without it.”- The Better Man Project

Oh how I love this one. You can spend so much time seeking love. Seeking friendship, and seeking nurturing. But what if you’re the one doing the loving? There’s always loving you can do. And it’s so hard to feel badly when you’re pouring out love. 

I'm wishing you all a happy and healthy new year. 2018, be nice to us!