Beginning again is like getting up in the morning. How does it feel, really, this waking up and beginning the day? For me, it can be different today from yesterday or any day last week or last year. I suspect there is some part of each of us that wishes for sameness in the sense of knowing what to expect. Perhaps we needn’t know every aspect of this new day, just enough to be reassured that we know what we’re doing – enough so that we can rely on past experience to provide us with confidence in stepping out.
I have this sense of our bodies like trees with roots extending deep into the ground holding us firm and a trunk and branches reaching up and out to engage with whatever may come our way. Not an unusual analogy, but if you consider it carefully, one that aptly captures the kind of balance that serves us best. Some part grounded and some part flexible and free. Might it be possible to wake up to a new day in this way – with both parts intact?
What gets in the way can be an imbalance – too much ground that turns into stuck-ness or too little so that what lies ahead has the potential to sweep us away. At least this is how it can manifest when facing the new and unfamiliar, and isn’t that what “beginning again” is all about? How to find the just right amount?
It may be also that the element of desire or motivation can be an important leveling factor. If what lies ahead is something we want or is important to us, there can be more energy available for us in how we approach it. If we are not so attached to it or ambivalent about what we are to do, there is less investment in getting out there to meet it. I admit the tree metaphor doesn’t work so well here. Trees undoubtedly don’t have the thoughts and emotions that influence us in our everyday living. They simply have what they have and do what they do.
The question is how to rise confidently to meet a new day or begin a new project. Instead of constructing multiple scenarios that may or may not actually happen, what would it be like to hold the present moment lightly as your feet touch the floor? A more mindful approach allows more space for your energy to move closer to the side of excitement. It creates an attitude of openness and a healthy intention as you face the day. Some mindful moments of meditation can assist in tapping into what’s there and seeing what you may need in order to regain your balance. I know many feel this is what happens when you down that cup of coffee in the morning, but I’m talking about connecting with the more enduring energy that lives in each of us. Isn’t this, after all, the force that allows us to continue to thrive?