Another year has ended, at least for those who follow the Gregorian calendar, in force in the vast majority of countries in the world. Another cycle ends, 365 days of opportunities that arose along the way, well taken advantage of or not, productive, or not, full of plans implemented, some that were lost along the way, many, poorly initiated and set aside, perhaps many also. Some, certainly, postponed until better opportunities. So we thought. Because, if it is characteristic of human beings to continually renew their hopes through outlining plans for the future, it is also one of the strongest characteristics of our imperfect humanity that we have the habit of procrastinating and postponing the achievement of everything until a more or less unattainable future. We live forgetting that the future means little because the current moment is the only one we have to achieve what we set out to do. At the precise moment we become distracted, it is already past, lost and without return. There is, therefore, no better opportunity than the one in which we find ourselves, whatever the content of the achievements we propose.

With this certainty, let us close this cycle. Let us make the necessary reflection on how we took advantage of the opportunities that this part of the path provided us and let us move forward. Let us follow the path, as the journey is long and it is not our place to waste time.

The new year has begun. New, or simply renewed, we must not forget that the decisions will always be ours and ours alone. It is only up to us to fulfill the greater plan that we have outlined or helped to chart towards spiritual progress. This is the objective of our current presence on this planet, and it will be its greater or lesser fulfillment that will outline other paths that will continue to direct our steps towards the infinity and perfection promised by Jesus. The path is ours and no one will do it for us. The resolutions are ours and no one can work them but us. And it is by walking that the path is made. It is not waiting eternally for the future, which is nothing more than a chimerical and intangible concept.

The path of progress must be followed step by step, without hesitation. Each step on the evolutionary ladder requires spiritual cleansing therapy, an ability to exclude everything that hinders our personal ascension. Each stage achieved is the result of a lot of internal work, done on a daily basis in our lives, a lot of work to acquire healthy habits that can replace the imperfections that we are eliminating. Perhaps the only way to instill in us a routine of healthy habits is this: replacing everything that causes pain with what makes us happy. When we talk about healthy habits, we do so in a comprehensive way, from the preservation of our body, the holy temple of the spirit, the social habits of coexistence with our brothers on the path, the harmonization of our thoughts and attitudes and everything that contributes for the conformity of our lives with the Laws of the Eternal Father.

Nobody likes to live in pain. Unhappiness is not the goal of Creation. Quite the contrary, God created us to be happy and, if we have not yet achieved that level of contentment, it is because we have placed the pedestal on aspects that, in reality, are not capable of elevating us to that supreme good. As long as we seek only and above all material achievements, happiness will continue to be an unattainable dream. We should have realized by now, because the path traveled over millennia is already quite long, that it is not in pure and simple matter that we will achieve what we desire. It is in our essence that we must look for the path. There, deep within us, if we look well, we will find the seed of Good that God placed in each one of us, ready to grow and bear fruit.

We are gods, as was said in Psalms (81:6) and Jesus endorsed (John, 10:34), we have the divine essence within us, we are a little piece of that Love with which the Infinite Father “shaped” us. One day, the seed will grow, if we are able to take care of it, and this growth will transform us into better beings, capable of improving both our inner world and the world around us. Because, as the Master announced, we will be able to do what he does and much more (John, 14:12).

But... what was this that Jesus did and that we can “do this and much more”?

Let us pay attention to His message of Love and we will have all the answers. Jesus was, in His passage on Earth, Love in all its fullness. It was this transformative Love that was his true legacy. This Love, if it had always been taken seriously, at least by its followers, the so-called Christians, would have managed, long ago, to raise humanity to a level of happiness far removed from that in which we find ourselves. But humanity has not contributed its share, has turned deaf ears and blind eyes, and continues to seek happiness far from the spiritual condition that is its destiny. And as Love, as Paul says (Corinthians; 13:4), is patient and kind, Jesus, our Elder Brother, deeply knowledgeable about earthly humanity, because he has been at the helm of this boat since the first moment of its creation, patiently waits for us on the path, aware that the moment will come when we awaken to what is essential.

Given these certainties, what should our purposes be for this new cycle, now 366 days long, just started? Is it worth making new resolutions, expressing new desires, once again, as we do year after year? Absolutely yes. It is always legitimate to draw up new plans, even if the previous ones have not been carried out to the end. People say that “there’s no point crying over spilled milk” (popular saying). What has passed is the past. Whether done well or not, we know that the fruits of the sowing will not fail to be felt. As Jesus said, “The sowing is free, but the harvest is mandatory.” But we must also not forget that, according to his promise, whatever it is, “... having been sown, it grows” (Mark, 4:32). This means that we must continue to insist on good intentions and good resolutions because, from the moment we commit ourselves to sowing Good, Love will bear fruit in sweet and happy berries that will fill our lives, and the world in which we live, of the happiness we desire.

What stops us, in this case, from always trying again and again? What to do with and despite constant falls? One and only one thing remains for us to do: let us stand up. And if we fall again, let us rise again. Let us get up again and again, until we have gathered enough strength to stand. Let us always remember that we are not alone. As much as it seems to us that we are adrift, and as much as it seems to us that the world is increasingly confused and has no alternative, this is not true, as we have had Jesus at the helm since the Earth existed. Since long before humanity entered the planet. When we came to live there, the Creator and Jesus had already prepared it to receive us. They knew that the day would be far away when we would be able to walk with some spiritual autonomy, but, once again we repeat, “Love is patient and kind”. Nature does not make leaps and neither does spiritual evolution. And when we refer to how far away the moment of awakening spiritual consciousness in us would be, it is also worth remembering that time is something relative, eternity is made up of multiple instants, which we often do not even realize, in the unconsciousness of the search for misleading venture in the matter.

Jesus has been with us since then, and he continues to be with us, always. Let us look for something consistent to weave the purposes of this New Year. Let us look for this consistency in his teachings. Let us always think about how He would act in the face of each problem we have to face, each resolution we have to make, that is, let us look to Him for example, the model of life, the reference for our lives. What would He think? What would he do? What would he say? Is what I intend for my life this year in line with what He expects of me? Will it agree with what He taught? Or, on the contrary, will you move away from his message? Will my purposes, my dreams and desires, my wishes, bring me that Harmony, Peace, Balance, Happiness, that He outlined in His teachings?

These are all reflections that are important to do at the beginning of the year, looking deep inside us, analyzing ourselves as deeply as we can and then… trusting and walking. There will be 366 days to live, 366 opportunities, or many more, perhaps, if another year is completed in our earthly existence. Opportunities await us that we cannot miss, under penalty of letting the sowing time pass, without which we will not have any fruits to reap.

We are masters of our own destiny. As Emmanuel and André Luiz warn us, in the work Opinião Espírita (chapter 27, not in English), psychographed by Chico Xavier, “Apart from yourself, no one decides your destiny”. Let us, then, take control of our own destiny, let us make serious resolutions for this new Year and let us set out on the path, with the firm intention of putting them into practice, as time is pressing and the time is to sow.

May Blessings of much Peace and the Light of Love descend from Above and illuminate our journey, making this year a time of good sowing.

Maria de Lurdes Duarte lives in Arouca, Portugal.