Click for audio: A New Beginning
The new year is a time of reflection, usually on the highs and lows of the previous year, and on improvements we hope to make in the year to come. I have pointed out that behind every holiday we celebrate, there is an important spiritual principle and our observation of the New Year is no exception. Contrary to our normal approach to this holiday, however, the embodied principle has less to do with where we have been and where we hope to go than with where we are.
As you know, I find the illustration of the iceberg a very useful tool in helping us visualize 
the truth of who and what we are. Most of us identify with that 10 percent that protrudes above the surface. It is this aspect that has experienced the highs and lows of a previous year and that hopes to improve itself in ways that will bring more highs than lows in the year to come.
But what of that 90 percent that lies hidden in the depths? I think most people sense this larger portion is there as potential waiting to rise to the surface. The iceberg itself, however, has a different lesson to teach us.
The proportions we see above and below the surface will never change. The laws of physics do not permit more than 10 percent above the surface and 90 percent below. If we could somehow shift 60 percent of the iceberg’s volume to the surface, the iceberg would do an end-over and its new face would still be 10 percent above the surface.
While it’s probably true that most people spend 90 percent of their time trying to improve that 10 percent, it is worth noting that the iceberg itself, when taken as a whole, is already perfect. The same can be said of every human being. Our work is not to make ourselves into something we are yet to be. Our work is to wake up to the truth of who and what we are right now. We are not just that 10 percent that floats above the surface. Nor are we only that 90 percent that is spiritual and unseen. We are the 100 percent, a fraction of which is poking through the material realm.
As in the case of the iceberg, more time and hard work is not what is needed to become a better iceberg. When taken as a whole, you and I are complete now. When we stop defining the 10 percent as flawed, incomplete and in need of improvement, and we open our mind and heart to that other 90 percent, the 10 percent will start to work.
How long do we have to float through life waiting to become a complete person? It’s not a matter of time. It’s a matter of attention. Consciously connect your 10 percent with your 90 percent and embrace yourself as 100 percent. You can do this now. This is your new beginning.