Are you heaving a sigh of relief now that 2012 is over only to hold your breath, wondering what the New Year has in store? Well, you’re not alone. As I look back over the past few whirlwind years and the chaos and confusion swirling around us I thought it almost seemed like a Stanley Kubrick movie- full of metaphors and hidden meanings.

    For many people it has been years of almost continual challenges and upheavals as people went from crisis to crisis, desperately trying to make sense of the world and searching for some glimmer of hope to hold onto or at the very least some distraction to take them away from the overwhelming realities of their life.

    So what gives? Well, we could bemoan our fate and say it has been a series of poor decisions on the part of our country over the past few years ….and maybe they would have had better luck consulting “The Magic 8 ball.”  We could blame it on the economy and say it is just the trickle down effect. Bad economy equals major financial stress which leads to failed relationships, illnesses and sometimes even death. You could say all that…. if you lived in Victimland.  But we “enlightened beings that we are” know better…..uh…don’t we?

Well, let’s say that we do and let’s say that although this past few years may have seemed cloaked in a never ending dark cloud, as always, there is the silver lining.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
-------Albert Einstein

   Yes, the past few years have been enormously challenging, yet out of these challenges can come our greatest gifts. Think about it. Maybe dealing with your stressed out boss or losing that job (that you would rather have a root canal then go to every day) is nudging you to uncover what your true passion is in life. Maybe financial stress is encouraging you to explore your untapped creativity. Your relationship is a mess? Maybe it’s time to reevaluate where you really stand in your relationship and ask yourself the hard question; “do I stay or do I go?” 

    As for health issues, these can pose the greatest challenge for us, but many times it is a way for us to either slow down, take stock of our lives or an opportunity for us to share our experience and help others. I’m certain you can think of many, many more turnarounds. All in all these gifts in disguise allow us to unearth our untapped talents and reintroduce us to our courageous selves.

   So now that we made it through 2012 slightly battle scarred but still intact, maybe we should take our newfound awareness and make 2013 the year of Living Miraculously. What do I mean by that? I mean maybe this is the year when we finally stop living in the shadow of our divinely brilliant selves. And where the word “Yes” begins each declaration:
Yes! I now choose to discover what my unique gifts are!

Yes! I now choose to release the fear of failure (or success).  

Yes! I now choose to stop procrastinating.

Yes! I now choose to stop living by the rules of the world and begin living by faith, not fear and a belief in miracles.

How do you do this, you ask? There are many ways to experience the miraculous in your life.

Here are just a few suggestions:

• First it is absolutely essential to make a commitment to yourself that you will stop - no matter what – the negative self talk. Remember Stuart Smiley’s affirmation from Saturday Night Live? “I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!”  Develop your own positive self talk statement. Post it in your car, on bathroom your mirror in your office…. and say it daily or hourly if you must.

• Promise yourself that will listen to your inner voice of intuition and authority and not the often delusional voice of the outer world.

• Go on an internal archaeological dig to discover who you really are (A Life Coach comes in really handy here!). I believe that we are all unique and born with our own special gift. I also believe it is our responsibility to discover what that is and then share it with the world.

• Remember that in life there is a continuous pendulum swing from good to bad and in between. Right now it appears we’re at the polar opposite of “good times” so it would not be unrealistic to expect the pendulum to begin moving, however slowly, towards more equilibrium, balance and better times.

• Have faith. Let “I Believe in Miracles” be your mantra. Know that it is possible for you to experience a miraculous 180 degree shift in your life.

And lastly, ponder these words of Saint Augustine: “Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.”

Welcome to 2013- Your Year of Living Miraculously!