Are you ready for 2011?  It you are like me, you can hardly believe the first decade, let alone another year, has completed.   Have you taken a few minutes to consider where you have been, what you have done and what has been present in your life these past 365 days?  I read somewhere you should write down 50 things you accomplished in the past year to really see where you have been.  Time is a fascinating phenomenon.  Often we are caught up in getting “somewhere”.  Projecting and planning for what lies ahead.  But what about taking stock?   The WATER element in Chinese Medicine’s 5 Element theory does just this.  It is the time in the yearly cycle to reflect, go inward (as the most YIN time of the year) and process where you have been before being ready to move on.  If you look at the trees in winter in any seasonal climate, what do you see?  Maybe the skeletal structure of the branches and not much else.  But underneath there is a slow, restorative process taking place.  The hidden roots are taking up precious reserves deep underground to fortify the tree for the coming spring.  For us, activities like reading, writing, meditation, even just “doing nothing” fortify us.  They give us time to reflect, connect with the deeper roots of ourselves, our WATER energy and prepare us for spring.