Beginnings

by | Feb 28, 2019 | 5 comments

I keep thinking about writing here, and then for some reason I don’t. There is just such an overwhelming amount of words and thoughts out in the world and at our fingertips; I hesitate to add to it just for the sake of saying something or building a writer’s platform. It also feels like something is shifting and it’s a time for new beginnings for me. I’ve been working more on writing for submission to other publications, but I still want to offer something here once a week. Something simple but thoughtful.

So, today, on this last day of February, I’m writing about beginnings. If you’re starting to get nervous that tomorrow is March 1st and realizing that your New Year’s resolutions have lost their gusto, maybe it’s time to make a new beginning. So, here are a few simple things you can do right now, today:

Choose a word for the year instead of a resolution. I’ve been doing this for quite a few years, but it seems to be something of a trend now. Maybe it’s a word that you are working towards, or maybe it’s something important to you. The right word will come. My word for 2019 is “space.” I also choose a slightly longer mantra, (This year’s is “Keep going” because I tend to start a lot of projects and never finish them!) and this year I even happen to have a theme song!

I’ve been taking a decluttering course through Joshua Becker’s site, and a phrase that struck me in the midst of this was “addition by subtraction.” If you’re trying to get somewhere, don’t assume you have to add something- a new habit, more money, better clothes or home decor. Try taking something away first- the clutter, a bad habit, or one of the commitments in your over scheduled life.

If you participate in Lent, it’s a great time to reflect and start over. Here’s a nice reflection.

I recently randomly opened to this blessing on beginnings in John Donahue’s book, “To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. I’ll leave you with his words:

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

John O’Donohue
To Bless the Space Between Us


JAC

February 28, 2019

5 Comments

  1. dagney

    lovely. thank you.

    Reply
    • JAC

      Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  2. Beth

    I’m already the beneficiary of your new year wisdom, but nice to see it collected here! x

    Reply
  3. sheila

    I love this. Thank you for adding quality to the noise and words in the world; it stands above the din of so much uselessness out there.

    Reply
    • JAC

      This is one of the best things anyone has ever said to me. Thank you.

      Reply

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