I travelled a long way over the holiday period. I mean that literally, though it might also be true metaphorically as staying with family is often a time of heightened emotions, awareness of our interconnectedness and of the brief span of human lives — and how we love to complicate them!
But actually I’m simply referring to my first long haul flight since before Covid, flying to the opposite side of the planet to see family after some years apart. On the way home I did that peculiar thing of jumping timezones so that I had two if not three new year moments. For one of them I even managed a fizzy toast with my husband, settled in our airplane seats. It was a moment when we looked at one another, took in the event, the turning of a page in the calendar, and acknowledged the passage of time. In my heart I noticed the call to make a fresh beginning, to recommit to some good practices I’ve allowed to wane a little, to reconsider some habits I might benefit from dropping or lessening, and my imagination started playing out across some dreams and ambitions that I might lean towards later in the year.
It was a noticeable moment in time. A little pause that we took in together. In Sanskrit we might refer to this as ‘kshana’ (क्षण kṣaṇa), the smallest perceptible unit of time. I like to think the more times we can observe a ‘kshana’ the richer our experience is. This is the essence of mindfulness practices.
The wonder of kshana for me is that is it full of possibility. Each time I wake up to a moment, I am invited to begin again. It might be an inhale, a fresh new breath, or a deeper sense of embodiment. It might be a little glimmer of enlightenment, a subtle reorientation in my outlook. It might even be a sudden arrival of a plan, an urge, a project, something that inspires and calls me to creativity, action, or renewed alertness.
January is often a time for reflecting and planning. This can be wonderfully inspiring. I’m doing this too. I’m winnowing my lists and ideas and listening again to the voice inside that directs me away from too many grand gestures and more toward the quality of feelings I want to nurture throughout the year. That’s to say, I’m trying to make my commitments and plans on the level of intuition and desires and needs felt in my body, not just my willpower and intellectual ideas. This is taking time to feel into, it can’t be rushed.
And whatever January practices and rituals you might have for yourself, be alert for the occurrence of kshana, the tiny moment you notice. What is it telling you, what invitation does it offer, what horizon appears? This is a practice for any month, any moment. Just keep noticing each kshana and the space it opens up.
“Each inhale is a new beginning” as my first meditation teacher used to say.
Victoria Jackson Yoga 