Our 3 Themes For 2024

Our intention, with this essay, is to clarify our three themes for 2024.

Rather than living by goals, as it were, my desire is to live by themes.

The reason for this is as follows: themes are open-ended, vast, and flexible.

Goals, on the other hand, often serve as a way of confining the infinite gifts of life to specific points that, when they are unfulfilled or, even, become irrelevant to our deeper aims, restrict us to feelings of inadequacy.

Or, at least, that is my perspective.

Even though the above is true, to some extent, goals are still useful and, furthermore, there are a few, relatively private, goals that have been set by me, for the lovely year that is 2024.

But, of course, our goal, with this essay, is not to clarify our goals; it is to clarify our themes.

Our themes for 2024.

Right before we dive in, though, there is one thing to note: these themes are in no particular order.

So, with that in mind, let’s begin!

Theme 01: Success

Our first theme, for 2024, is success.

Success means many things to many people.

Right now, though, success, within this context, refers to career success.

My career is going well.

I am living the life that I want to live and I am doing what I want to do.

Seriously, it’s perfect.

But, at the same time, that isn’t quite the case.

I want more; more money and more clients and, perhaps more than anything else, a greater sense of success.

A greater sense of being successful and, in turn, being free to appreciate, and take pride in, my success.

Right now, within me, there is this sense of not being enough and not being able to appreciate my accomplishments.

Don’t get me wrong, this is, in my eyes, a less-than-ideal state of affairs and, in the end, failing to remedy this emotional pain, before chasing after this greater success, may be a recipe for sadness.

On the other hand, though, this may not be the case.

Rather, it may be that this feeling — this inner sense of unworthiness — is, while not pleasant, fundamentally useful, when channeled towards my greater aims of success; it may be what drives me towards greater accomplishment.

The problem arises when we reach a level of success that is valid, and then feel the need for more, to satiate some deep-rooted insecurity regarding our value or, perhaps more commonly, the possibility it may be taken away.

Come to think of it, this theme, while ostensibly a “theme” and different from a “goal,” serves the same basic purpose: to guide us towards an outcome — a rather vague outcome, come to think of it — that, at this moment, serves as the basis upon which our sense of self-appreciation, happiness, and contentment can exist.

If this theme is not a “fulfilled reality” or “fact of our life” — this becomes especially egregious, given just how vague this theme actually is — then we cannot feel the self-appreciation, happiness, and contentment we desire.

Something about this needs to change. And, it will.

Right now, though, success remains a core theme of our 2024. And, in the end, we will enjoy, and experience, this theme, in a wealth of forms, throughout our lovely 2024.

Theme 02: Creativity

Every single year of mine is rooted within creativity.

Or, more specifically, the theme of creativity and, in turn, the richness that it contains.

Just as an example, this year, we spent a great deal of time playing with new creativity methods, while also taking a look at our richest, most enchanting, creative passions and, in turn, finding new ways of engaging with them.

All of this was so fun!

Our 2024 will follow a similar trajectory. But, the specifics of our creativity — what we will do, and how we will do it; among other things — is unclear.

And, perhaps, that is where the magic lies: within the mystery and wonder that every year contains and, fundamentally is; we cannot know what the New Year brings, but we can believe that it will be special.

Special and magical and transcendent and beautiful; among so many other descriptors.

I am choosing to believe that this New Year will be, and already is, all of those things, while being open to what this New Year truly is and just how much will grow, evolve, and present itself, by the time the year comes to a close.

Theme 03: Spirituality

Our third theme is “Spirituality.”

You can find, within this essay, the three spiritual practices we will be engaging with, on a regular basis, for at least six-months.

Outside of that, though, there is another point to clarify.

My intention, within this theme, is to connect.

To connect with something greater than myself.

Something greater than my worries, anxieties, yearnings, wants; and so on and so forth.

And, in doing so, to appreciate life, and the universe itself, on a deeper level.

To go beyond — or, even, transcend; although, this seems close to impossible, in my eyes — a lot of the mental baggage — the stress and fear and anxiety, primarily — that, it seems, has weighed me down for so long.

Something tells me that this goal, and the theme it belongs to, will not be satisfied.

Or, at least, not in 2024.

But, make no mistake, we will enrich ourselves spiritually, in 2024.

If nothing else, that is a fact; a fact that, much like our success and creative play, has been preordained by the forces of intention, desire, and commitment.

A Bonus Theme

Right before we sign off, there is a bonus theme that must be clarified.

And, with that in mind, our bonus theme is as follows: fun.

Or, more specifically, having more fun, while also bringing the attitude of fun into everything.

Come to think of it, “everything” sounds tricky. But, “most things” — or “a lot of things” — sounds more doable.

If nothing else, we can sum this up with the words “Just relax” or, even, “Let yourself enjoy this.”

Every moment is a gift; this theme is meant to make us aware of this fact and, in turn, to live from it.

Conclusion

Just to wrap this up, thank you so much for reading this essay!

If you have themes — or, even goals/intentions, among other things — for 2024, please share them!

Outside of that, if you want to reach me, you can send an email to “maxwellcakin@gmail.com.”

Best wishes and, of course, have a lovely, lovely day!