Completion…

…or lack thereof.

I had a realization this morning about where I was with 2016.  Or properly, where I wasn't.  I wasn't done with 2016, not in any proper sense.  I've been "done" with 2016 for a while (probably about the time David Bowie died), and definitely finished with it.  But is 2016 complete yet?  Simply asking the question is powerful, and leads to another question: how would I know?  How does one measure the completion of the prior year?

The calendar is the first obvious measure: I have moved through this construct from December 31st, 2016 to January 1st, 2017.  On the whole, this is an arbitrary but extremely convenient way to mark the end of one thing (2016) and the beginning of another (2017).  But on a different level, this is insufficient.  This is a passive marking of the end of a time-based thing.  So, what to make this more active, more engaged, more directed, more animated?

Letting go of mental baggage is one way.  There is a lot to let go of mentally from 2016: loss, change, elections.  This is difficult, but worth the work.  I'm considering ways to approach this, but it may be as simple for me as stating it out loud: "Thing from 2016 that I'm hanging on to!  I'm letting you go now!" 

Letting go of physical things is another.  This can be difficult.  I'm a material person; things are important to me, often long after they cease to be.  Sometimes it's a cool thing.  Sometimes it's a gift.  Often it's books - I can't just get rid of a book.  But we did.  Purging and donation happened in the new year.  This might be a way to complete other years as well…

Welcoming in the new year is another.  I welcome 2017, with its unlimited potential, and acknowledge the possible up and down-sides.  I already k