What are your intentions for this New Year? According to traditional Buddhist teaching, every mind moment involves an intention. This suggests the profound subtlety with which each choice operates in our lives. Our bodies are rarely still, except perhaps in meditation; and each of our constant bodily movements is preceded by a volitional impulse, usually unnoticed. Intentions are present even in such minute and unnoticed decisions as where to direct our attention or which thoughts to pursue or drop. These decisions influence the trajectory of our lives repeatedly. The accumulation of these small choices shapes our lives.

Our intentions–noticed or unnoticed, gross or subtle–contribute to our suffering, our happiness, even the path to freedom. Intentions are seeds–the life garden you grow depends on the seeds you plant, nurture and water. Long after a deed is done or a word said, the trace or momentum of its intention remains, conditioning future happiness or unhappiness. If we nurture intentions of greed or hate, their inherent suffering will sprout, both while we act on them and in the future in the form of reinforced habits, tensions and painful memories. If we nourish intentions of love and generosity, the inherent happiness and openness of those states will become a frequent companion in our life. A daily sitting practice is the ground from which the seeds of our intentions sprout. Spending time each day reflecting on our deepest intentions nurtures those seeds. What are your intentions for each moment, each day of this new year?