FRESH BEGINNINGS

 FRESH BEGINNINGS

"Every moment is a fresh beginning."

T.S. Eliot

There is a wonderful feeling when we discover that when we begin fresh - all over again...magic happens. It is just one way to work at reinventing ourselves. We need to uncover our unique abilities. It gives all of us a sense of well-being. It is true that if we run from uncovering new abilities and experiences that one way or another life finds a way to make it happen for us. Sometimes that way takes the power away from us and is not always pleasant. 

I believe that many of us, myself included, feel at times that we must confront facing our "issues." That is really such harsh word. I am all about the vocabulary and instead of using the word confront, I heard that uncovering was used in many discussions. There is always time to find our own uniqueness. At times it is just too easy to blame our own responsibilities for not taking the time to find ourselves by uncovering our unique abilities. 

Once a person reaches a certain age, time seems to just fly by so there is no time like the present to get busy creating ourselves in the way that we would like to become. Uncovering our positive attributes to help make us better humans just feels joyful and positive. 

In reality, there is no such thing as standing still. Think of it as a flower. We are either growing or we are wilting. I don't know about you, but I am not fond of wilting flowers, therefore I do not want to find myself wilting away. I need to always feel like something new is calling me. It is a matter of me taking life by the reins and embracing whatever new may come my way. Otherwise, I have discovered that I feel STUCK! At one point I remember asking myself if this was all that there was. 

By gosh it is not. I have a lot to live for and to experience. There are many things on my bucket list and everyone's list is not the same. I can assure you that riding roller coasters, zip-lining, parachuting, or hiking are not on my list of what I need to experience. And that is ok, as long as I am willing to explore new dimensions of my life that might bring me joy and meaning. 

Hope tells me all of the reasons why I could do something and hope most definitely is not blind optimism. It is taking action and I know that it is important to remember that hope does not come with guarantees. Hopeful actions help to build my own self-confidence. Another way to look at it is to remember this quote from Morris West:  "If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine." Hang on to that HOPE.

Some things that I have decided to work on are listed below. The list is quite long, so for this blog I have only named a few. 

• Don't wait. Do it now. Whatever my "it" is, why wait?
• Stop feeling guilty when I put on my brakes to just slow down and take it easy. It is a delicious feeling to wake up with coffee or maybe an organic tea and just read. Then take a shower and get dressed much later in the morning. I stopped beating myself up because of doing this. Hey! I am retired and that means that I can do what I want when I want. 
• We have a family dinner for 5 most every night that there are no specific activities going on and we all 'power off' at the dinner table. Take time to listen to one another and carry on conversations.
• Besides working on getting better at getting my blog out on time and getting my novel ready for the editor, I have accomplished reading a book every two weeks. That was my goal and sometimes I even surpass that goal. 
• Continue writing in my journal. I have done this for over 25 years. I miss writing in my journal at the same time with my soulmate. But I now write in my journal about what my day was like, how my emotions were for that day, and even write as if I am talking with him. It truly is comforting to me. I also have a Gratitude Bowl. 

Using colorful Post-it notes, I write one thing specifically that I am grateful for each day. Yes, when it fills up, I must clean it out and start fresh. I have a special place where I keep the old papers. I just can't bear to throw them away. Reading them over again brings me great joy. 

Find what brings you happiness and start you own fresh beginnings...at your own pace. There is no right or wrong unless we allow ourselves to wilt. Feed the flower.