Beginnings

The feelings one has with new beginnings are incredible!  Life seems full of unlimited amounts of hope.  Everything seems possible, even the impossible.  Trust, energy, and confidence flow in abundance.
 
Ironically new beginnings often come after a big crescendo.  Often I find myself in the lull after a big event.  The “big” could be good or bad, it is often just the fact of being “big” that provides the opportunity to gather the soul, regroup, and take a fresh perspective.  In my experience, new beginnings are often preceded by a time of reflection.  The bigger the beginning is the deeper the reflection was.  It is in the resetting that one finds new gateways for the journey.  Yet the process is rarely easy.
 
With time, tragedy becomes a footnote in life’s journey.  One may be in a time of happiness while another stumbles through the grieving process.  It’s as if we are caught in a metaphoric dialogue along the following lines; “Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, ‘Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down.’” (Isaiah 14.8)  Everything is possible.  You are on your path, I am on mine.  What must be is, what will be is still to be lived for.
 
I find myself taking advantage of the moments for reflection.  Rather than seeing life as a series of major new beginnings, I find we hold in our hands the window of beginning anew as often as we like.  We don’t have to wait until something of major proportions happens in our life to take stock.  We do not need to stay on a path until something traumatic happens.  We have the opportunity to reflect, measure our position against our values and priorities, and begin anew as often as we like!  My discovery came in the dark night of the soul; windows where God works from the inside out – changing how I see life, giving me the chance to begin anew.
 
This isn’t just my opportunity; it’s yours – at the time and place of your choosing.