Every December I create my 3 Wishes for the following year. This ritual is my chance to reflect on the year ending: its quintessential flavour, its high and also its low moments. And then, as the New Year approaches, I turn my head, Janus-like, and create my 3 Wishes for the next year. I write these 3 Wishes in my journal and these become my personal vision, guiding my choices and actions for that year.
The following December I review these, what worked, what didn’t…and why… and then, once again, I create the next year’s vision with my 3 Wishes and subsequent actions to secure them.
I began this tradition 25 years ago and over the years, as I moved into the rhythm of this ritual, my wishes grew into an incremental visioning and evolved into ultimately finding my purpose, as well as continuing to take me on the most unexpected and magical adventures.
This is the framework for creating ‘My 3 Wishes for 2023’:
1. A brief review of 2022 including your personal as well as your professional life: a) Your high moments and your low ones. b) What was the overall flavour/tone of 2022?
c) What are you most proud of about how you responded to this year? d) Any regrets? 2. Now think about 2023:
a) What’s the overall flavour/tone you really want for 2023? Write a word/phrase. b) Find/create a visual to capture this. c) Now create your 3 Wishes for 2023 and the actions that will best ensure they happen.
If you create wishes that are too easy, then you will probably secure them, but you might be settling for just good enough. If you are aiming for something extraordinary that really matters to you, then be bold and hungry: feeling shy about your wishes is the best indicator that you are on the right track! And these wishes are not exclusively focused on material outcomes. They can include physical, emotional, and psychological well-being, flowing from that fundamental question: ‘What will make my heart sing?’
My overall flavour/tone wish for 2022 was: ‘Great love, sparkly light and huge fun!’ After a challenging two years I was yearning for light and fun. It’s been no coincidence that I’ve focussed on my ‘Free Child’ in recent Perspectives Posts. She has been overshadowed in recent years and it was time for her to come out to play again:
‘We all have a capacity for joy: psychologically we call this our ‘Free Child’ and it is the only place within us where we can experience a visceral, not cerebral, awe and wonder. We are born with this gift of joy but, as we grow older, we often internalise negative messages from significant others that form our inner ‘Critical Parent’, that judgmental, harsh voice which insidiously attacks our self-esteem.
My Free Child is very sweet, wise and gentle. She loves to play, dance, giggle and have fun. She loves stories in all forms: book, film, theatre, oral etc. She loves being cosy and she loves to be in stillness. She loves nature and being connected to the magic of the Universe. She loves harmony and is not fearful but very trusting and open and she loves and connects very easily. She sees the best in people, and this brings her great joy.’ Plug into Bliss Part 2
And my Free Child loves this time of year! Her festive season starts with Thanksgiving and continues through December celebrating Winter Solstice, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and culminating with the Epiphany on 6th January. It’s all about creating the magic and ultimately, it’s about love: giving and receiving love. That’s what real magic is.
As I look back at 2022, my year has been about deeper love and connection, great fun travelling with and to loved ones and LOTS of stargazing! So yes, my overall wish for ‘Great love, sparkly light and huge fun!’ came true.
And my overall flavour/tone that I wish for 2023? I wish us all a very merry festive season leading to a 2023 rich with love, sparkle… and great magic!
Hannah Elizabeth Greenwood
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