A gentle New Years Eve reflection ritual:

If you would like to join in, this is a simple ritual to help you release what you are ready to stop carrying and to choose one small invitation to bring into the year ahead. It is not about big resolutions. It is about soft, kind intentions, and letting the process be a little surprising.

What you will need

Paper
A pen
Two envelopes or two jars

Step 1 Make your slips

Between now and December 31, cut several small strips of paper and make two piles of slips. Aim for anywhere from 2 to 4 slips for each pile. Choose the number that fits your energy.

Step 2 Write your two lists

List one Leave behind
On each slip, write one small thing you are ready to leave behind from this past year.
This could be a habit, a worry, a pattern, a pressure, or anything you are done carrying.

List two Carry forward
On each slip, write one small thing you would like to carry into the new year.
This can be a gentle hope, a small invitation, a simple wish, or even just one word.

Step 3 Fold and store

Fold or roll each slip so you cannot see what you wrote. Place each list into its own envelope or jar.

Step 4 The daily practice

In the days leading up to New Years Eve, choose one slip from each pile without looking. Then tear it up, throw it out, or burn it safely.

Keep going until you reach December 31, making sure you have only one folded slip left in each pile.

Step 5 New Years Eve reveal

After class on December 31, you have the option to open your two final slips.

Your leave behind slip is what you are letting go of as you step into the new year.
Your carry forward slip is the small invitation you will focus on gently as you begin January.

If you would like, you can share in our post class discussion. Or you can keep it private and do the ritual quietly on your own.

Why this ritual can be meaningful

This practice is a calm way to mark the transition into a new year, with care, meaning, and community. By writing your hopes and let go items on folded slips and drawing them without looking, you invite a little softness and surprise into the process instead of forcing big resolutions.

No big resolutions. Just small, kind invitations.

💕 Shannon