Just for a minute...

Hello all! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Mine has been wonderful, relaxing, full of conversation mixed in with some reflection. I got to thinking about beginnings and endings. We have often heard the phrase that things must come to an end, so new things can begin. In life we may experience many new beginnings and lots of endings... or only a few. In my life, I have experienced many. In fact, I feel like my whole life has been made up of beginnings and endings. I have moved to places, taken jobs, moved away, switched jobs, made friends, moved away from friends and have lost and found myself all over again through it all. The process has been painful at times, but also full of love and gratitude. It is never fun to recognize that perhaps something didn't work out the way you thought it would. So, what if I said to you that I thank God for every single step taken. Every move, every job, every relationship because... let's think of it this way shall we? Perhaps, it's all worked out exactly the way it was supposed to. Life often presents us with lessons and keeps "throwing" it in our faces (or I run into them like a brick wall, as I have done many times!) until we finally get it. I don't think without these things-- the jobs, the cities, the relationships, the friendships, teachers, bosses... that I would have ever truly learned to fall in love with who I am. Do I still have self-doubt, yes. Absolutely. Do I wish that I would have said things and done things differently at times, of course. But, inside of me there is something that says you are doing exactly what you need to be doing, and you did exactly what you needed to do then...
I don't necessarily have a plan all the time (I used to) trust me, I used to have a running list in my head of things I needed to do, needed to accomplish and needed to be, but for now, I've learned to get comfortable with not knowing and accepting everything, including myself.

I love this excerpt:

Honor the Beginning

Beginnings can be delicate or explosive. They can start almost invisibly or arrive with a big bang. Beginnings hold the promise of new lessons to be learned, new territory to be explored, and old lessons to be recalled, practiced and appreciated. Beginnings hold ambiguity, fear and hope.

Don't let the lessons, the experiences of the past, dampen your enthusiasm for beginnings. Just because it's been hard doesn't mean it will always be that difficult. Don't let the heartbreaks of the past cause you to become cynical, close you off to life's magic and promise. Open yourself wide to all the universe has to say.

Let yourself begin anew. Pack your bags. Choose carefully what you bring, because packing is an important ritual. Take along some humility and the lessons of the past. Toss in some curiosity and excitement about what you haven't yet learned. Say your good-byes to those you're leaving behind. Don't worry who you will meet or where you will go. The way has been prepared. The people you are to meet will be expecting you. A new journey has begun. Let it be magical. Let it unfold.

All the parts of your journey are sacred and holy. Take time now to honor the beginning.

From Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie