New Beginnings

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

Seneca

There are lots of cliches about new beginnings: every day is a new beginning, starting over is starting fresh, and such and so forth. Well, I have a new laptop, and let me tell you, this is the real deal of new beginnings for an old lady. It’s probably the most intuitive laptop I could possibly have, but when it comes to technology, nothing about it is intuitive if you’re over fifty. But I’m sucking up my fears, y’all, and giving it a shot. 

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Sounds a little dicey to me, but I believe everything else Martin said, so I’m going with it. Learning the intricacies of a new computer is, in the big scheme of things, small potatoes, right? Big new beginnings include moving across the country, doing your own taxes, getting married, getting divorced, having a baby.  Here’s the bottom line, though, beginning something new usually means you give up something old. 

It’s hard to begin anything new without clearing a path for it. In my case, cleaning off the desk, moving files to this new computer, clearing out the in-box on my email, arranging space for the books I use regularly. For you, it may be different--it may mean letting go of a job that you know how to do for one that you don’t; or ending a toxic relationship, or taking up a new exercise routine. At any rate, one thing usually must end before another begins. It’s hard to patch-work a new beginning out of an old cloth, so to speak. As Carl Bard advised, “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” 

If you are in the process of starting something new, choose to go gently into change. Not with a lot of impulse, but thoughtfully. Take the time you need to decide what change works for you, and carefully weigh the pros and cons. But once you decide to begin anew, just jump! Take that leap of faith. Don’t worry about nailing the landing; most of us are pretty messy when starting something new. If your inner voice is saying go, then go in faith.

In the Spirit,

Jane