A Year of Mastery

“To become a master at any skill, 

it takes the total effort of your: heart, mind, and soul 

working together in tandem.” 

― Maurice Young

A new year is on the horizon, bringing with it a promise of change and growth.  Numerologically, 2018 reduces to an 11 - which is the number of Mastery.  While you can again reduce 11 to a 2, it is my opinion that a year of Mastery is exactly what we need. The number 2 reflects duality - something we have plenty of!  We have polarized to such a degree that our differences are wildly more visible than our common humanity.

The past couple of years have been very challenging. We have found our voices, passionately speaking out about the world we share. We have faced natural disasters, terrorism, and violence on a scale not previously seen in the United States in our lifetime, and almost all of us know someone who was affected. We have seen the world change at breakneck speed -and everything happened so fast that we were often reeling in a reactionary blur, clumsy in the way we responded to it all.  We hurt each other and caused profound separation in our efforts to unite around important issues.  2017 was a year of chaos.  2018 provides the opportunity to prove that "out of chaos comes order."

2018 is a year of Mastery. To cultivate mastery, one must focus on skill, grace, knowledge, and commitment.  Mastery is the outward application of an inner discipline.  In my lifetime, I have heard only a few people speak of the importance of mastery, but in times past, it was considered a life pursuit to master a particular art or talent.  What will you master in your lifetime? 2018 is the year to begin it.

Perhaps we could work on mastering collaboration, the art of listening, speaking gently to others, compassionate response, forgiveness, humility, the acceptance of differences, or kindness.  Perhaps 2018 is a year in which we could dedicate ourselves to finding the middle ground and getting to know someone whom we see as "the other."  Perhaps it is the year we master the willingness to reach out to those who differ from us and to forge a bond of understanding.  In that bond, we find our true strength - and a place to begin working together toward the common good.  We do not have to agree on everything in order to identify the common good.

In our effort towards Mastery lies the possibility of a better future for our world.  We can stop preaching to the proverbial choir and start inviting everyone to a table where the vision is to unite rather than divide.  Consider the world we share.  Are you happy with it? Does it reflect the legacy you wish to leave when you depart this life?  I feel confident it does not.  What art or skill will you master in 2018 that will point our world in the direction of healing and wellbeing? Let us join the ranks of the Masters who have truly changed the world, manifesting beauty, happiness, shared prosperity, and contentment.

And, in case this vision seems too big to accomplish, my invitation is that you simply address what is within your reach.  If each of us seeks to make things better in our families, the world will change dramatically.  If we reach out and offer friendship to our neighbors, the world will be a better place.  Let us use this year, when the energy of Mastery is so readily available, to master the art of being who we came here to be  - the hands, the heart, and the living expression of Divine Love. Could there be a more noble pursuit?