Another year has hit. Now what?

When I use to be a child I didn’t believe in Santa.
Well, first of all, I was born and raised in a post-soviet family where religion was not really in the limelight. I believed in facts. And watching my Grandma bringing the presents under the tree after “meeting HIM outside” did raise my eyebrow.
The second reason, perhaps, is that Santa was rather a hero of Disney cartoons. In my time and space he was called Father Frost (or “Ded Moroz” to put it more authentically).

My teenage discoveries led me to the idea of manifesting reality.
I empirically proved times and again - if you really want something, it will happen. Here are some tested techniques:

1. Write your wish, burn it, and swallow the ashes along with your drink while the clock is ticking till 12 at midnight.
2. Pray to the full moon. That’s right! The fuller it is the better. That’s how I got my first boyfriend. Asking the full moon to bring me a true love!
3. Read and meditate. A lot. It will make your mind stronger and the power of your manifestations will develop very quickly.

On the note of New Year celebrations, I used to prepare 12 notes (for the 12 months in a year) with my most sacred wishes handwritten on them. Put them under the pillow, and on the 1st of January in the morning, pull one which will definitely come true during this year. Sometimes 1 seemed an unfairly small amount, or “stubborn” wishes would stick to my fingers while I was pulling them. It was considered fate. These wishes would come true even faster.

Now I am 28 y.o. Pretty old, according to my teenage perceptions. Especially, considering the fact in just 2 years I’ll hit the big 30. There was no wild party in my celebration. My family lives in 5 hours different time-zone, so I don’t make a “chin-chin” sign with a laptop screen, sipping my champagne. My and my fiancé didn’t even go to see the fireworks and spent the whole night enjoying the cold Russian salads, Christmas movies and the company of each other. The Tree is traditionally made of the pictures with the happy moments happened last year. And 20 min before the countdown I was still trying to book an online present.

Before you fall asleep imagining my uneventful evening…Do we absolutely need the rush of the holiday to feel something in our lives has changed? Or is it not enough to say the best wishes from your heart to the people you care about without a proper occasion?

Is it possible to be happy about yourself, your life and decisions without ticking them off the last year’s wish list?
And most importantly, how to survive one more batch of 365 when you don’t have your 101 bucket list to perform?

I declare this year to be the time of tasting life. Delving deeper into my true self and the hearts of the dear ones. I dare myself to trust the Universe enough not to worry about the smallest details, letting everything take it’s course. Doing what I have to do and enjoying it.

Should you be addicted to the tips, here are some counterintuitive ones, valid for the whole year ahead:

Take a walk when you feel ungrounded. Your smartphone can wait at home.
Listen to your heartbeat if it’s getting too loud in your head.
Express your feelings. Hug your friends, kiss your loved ones, make arts.

At the beginning of a new cycle I have just one quote to say: “I learned that every mortal will taste death, but only some will taste life.” Rumi