ROHAN GUNATILLAKE: I moved to Scotland from London the best part of 12 years ago. This is where I write my meditations for you every week. It’s a land of wild countryside, dramatic hills, epic coastlines, rather bleak moors, and some pretty great whisky. There’s an endlessly creative maker spirit here, and one of the things I’ve really loved about my adopted home is its traditions. Scotland has a really strong sense of itself, and a big part of that is how it celebrates and expresses its traditions. And when I think about Scottish traditions, I think of the New Year — or Hogmanay, as it is known over here.

But for all of Scotland’s local traditions with such fabulous names as first-footing, Up Helly Aa, and the Loony Dook, the tradition that is most common across the world is the New Year’s resolution.

You know the drill. Set a rather big goal based on what you want to change in yourself. Start fairly well in the first couple of weeks and fall flat come February. Accompany that apparent failure with a good serving of self-criticism. ¡Ay, caramba!

The thing is, this is an entirely sensible time to do something like that. There’s the turning of the calendar from one number to the next. The resetting of the seasons. There’s the lengthening of the days, depending on where you are in the world.

There are of course alternatives to New Year’s resolutions. One of my favorites is the practice of writing down and burning memories of a difficult year just gone. But today I want to invite you to try something different.

I have to confess I’m a bit over New Year’s resolutions. So it made me wonder what an anti–New Year’s resolution might be and what an anti–New Year’s resolution meditation for you might be like.

There’s also something transformative in looking backward rather than looking forward. There’s power in not focusing on what you want to happen in your life and instead noticing what has happened already. I think there’s also something about the small stuff, not a fixation on the big.

So, I’m calling our special New Year’s meditation practice “Small Victories.” Let’s try it out now, and if you want to make it a theme for some time ahead then of course do that, but if not then that’s fine too. You do you.

In the little shared yard outside our house we have a preponderance of lemon balm herbs. The yard doesn’t get the most sun, covered on four sides by some fairly tall houses, but this lemon balm, it just keeps on going. We tried making tea from it, it was okay, but there’s only really so much of it you can drink, especially when you find the odd bug or two in there.

So I had this idea of making soap. I bought some pre-made soap mix so that my two young children could make it with me, and the weekend after the rectangular purple silicone molds arrived, we got to it. Even though just our first attempt, the result was pretty good, and our next batch using blackberry syrup in the mix that we’d foraged from local brambles was even better.

Now I’m not a crafty maker kind of person. That’s very much my wife’s specialism in the family, she’s amazing at it. So, that I came up with the idea, got it all together, involved everyone and together made something nice enough to give away as Christmas gifts, that was a small victory for me for sure.

So if that’s mine, what is one of yours?

Take your time. Enjoy your breath. Enjoy the coolness or warmth of the skin on your face. And reflect back on the year and fish out from your memory one of your small victories.

Nice one!

Let the memory of your small victory lift the corners of your mouth into a smile. Let any pleasant feelings arise and be known.

We were on holiday this summer by the sea, and I went into the water and had a swim. That might not sound like much, but it was for me. I’m not a big sea swimming guy and typically make an excuse to not go in. So for me, this was a small victory.

Now breathe with me, and you visualize or think about another small victory of your own from the past year.

I have a neighbor who lives around the corner, Barry. A truly lovely guy. He’s got a chocolate brown labrador called Paddy who’s good pals with our own dog Nessie, and so, we often see each other at the gates of the park. One of us going out, the other going in. A chance for a chat about this and that. A keen soccer player since he was young, Barry’s knee finally gave in, and he had to have some pretty full on surgery. So when one autumn night I saw him cycling around the neighborhood as part of his rehab, I knew what it meant. Even though Barry really doesn’t like cycling, it meant he was coming back. It was Barry’s small victory.

We should note, remember, and celebrate our own small victories. But we should also do the same for the small victories of others.

So for me it’s Barry on his bike. What is a small victory you witnessed this year? Bring it to mind. Bring it with a smile and an open heart, a soft belly.

Take your time.

For me, the turning of the year is something worth marking. And it is also an opportunity to make your own rituals, and if they work for you, over time they might become traditions. Who knows?

But I’ve let go of big goals myself for this year, and I’m really enjoying this orientation to the small and to the small victories — for myself and for others.

My hypothesis is that if we take on this orientation, see the small victories all around us, then dot-by-dot the qualities of joy in ourselves and the seeing of the joy of others all builds up, and that can only be a good thing.

We’d love to hear about the small victories that came to mind for you. How are you approaching the turning of the year? You can find us on all your social media platforms through our handle @meditativestory. Or you can email us at: [email protected]

And with that, and on behalf of everyone here at Meditative Story, we wish you a happy and fulfilling 2023 ahead, and we look forward to being part of it in the little way that we can.

Thank you so much.