Beginnings
It is truly mind blowing how quickly life shifts. How many of the comforts and “usuals” we get so used to suddenly become a thing of the past. Time moves on, our realities adjust and we are living in a brand new world before we know it. However, paradoxically, what also amuses me is just how long it seems to take when you are in the midst of a storm. It seems as though it will become the new normal and time creeps on at a maddeningly slow rate. But you inevitably find yourself on the other side of it, scoffing at yourself for believing nothing would ever get better and for sinking into that deep pit of nihilism that can seem so temptingly consoling when we’d rather chalk the pain up to the merciless hand of life rather than take responsibility for how we may have ended up there or our attitude during. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes life can dole out a heaping helping of kick you when you’re down by no fault of yours, yet still our reality’s trajectory is dependent upon our actions taken in spite of the current hail storm or sunny day. The future arrives regardless of who is to blame.
An interesting concept to me is how very rare it is to know we are in the last pages of a chapter before it comes to a close and another is around the corner. If we knew we were getting closer to those closing pages, would it change the attitude in which we read them in? Would it add more gratitude? More appreciation for each sentence, each idea and each feeling that it elicits? Seldom do we sit in our present experience. We are so prone to looking towards the next event that the chapter that we are in wraps up and we are left to merely either reminisce or chastise ourselves for what we could have done different or better. What if we treated every season like a beginning and an ending simultaneously? Would the aspect of a beginning keep the feeling of excitement and drive while the concept of knowing it is finite bring gratitude and wisdom? What a beautiful place in which to reside. It is a hard ridge line to walk, admittedly. The mundane tediousness of daily life can beckon us to fall into the trap of apathy. It takes far more effort to stay excited and grateful in the short term than checking out does. Yet, the latter creates a much more draining life long term.
However, this post is about beginnings. How quickly life shifts into something brand new. How beautiful that is. How hard it is to let go of all that you know and the reality you assigned to your identity. Yet it is just another opportunity to expand. To grow. To unlock new parts of yourself that you were unaware of before. But you must be willing to explore. You must be hungry for excitement. Beginnings are scary. Uncertain. But they are a chance at something more. Something further than you have ventured before. Sometimes they are a chance at redemption. A chance to seize an opportunity that you missed in the past. Sometimes, they are a brand new adventure. A chance at opening up a door that leads you into an entirely new section of the novel. A “Part II”. A sequel even.
Open your heart to new beginnings. Keep your gratitude and wisdom from your previous chapters, but be bright eyed and eager for the start of a new era in your life.
Every today is your yesterday’s future. Every day you wake up is the arrival of your future.
Let’s create some great beginnings that yield great futures.
