This weekend is the Wiccan sabbat of Imbolc. Imbolc is a festival of youth and reawakening, symbolic of the fact that the darkest days of winter are now over and we are moving towards the Vernal Equinox and Spring.
Now I'm not Pagan, and I don't buy into all the symbolism of the Goddess and the Horned God that runs through the Wiccan year (I see the point it makes but I don't think you need lashings of otherwordly ether to make it). But I do think there is a certain rhythm in the human body that is connected to nature and the cycle of the seasons. There is a renewal and renovating of vows aspect to the Imbolc festival, similar in a way to the idea of New Year's resolutions. I don't do NYRs, because New Year's feels like an artificial invention to me, but I do think there is something about the time of year generally that is amenable to new projects; something in the lengthening of days that does indeed make the brain naturally feel more drive to take to new things and stick with them. I quite like the idea of a festival to celebrate the general time of year rather than the one-night stand that New Year's is.
I've been feeling more in the frame of mind to think about the year to come in the last couple of weeks. I have some ideas as to where I want to go, and how I want to be this year. Feel a little more optimistic for having a plan of sorts.