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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Beginnings (Redux)

Image accessed 13 Dec 2012 from http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2011/11/thursday-think-tank-73-waning-days-of.html 



"...[W]henever you feel urgent or overwhelmed, whenever you feel pressed to figure things out or rethink the unthinkable . . . rest . . . so that the endless beginning--which some call the voice of God--might break through what has happened....
"...And you will wake feeling like dawn.
                                     --Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening, p. 390 

This passage in Mark Nepo's day book (from the entry for Nov 27) strikes a chord within me. Until now, I have lived life linearly. I have imagined myself moving from beginning, through middle, toward the end. I look to my left and right and compare my progress with others. I am a little ahead of someone, and I feel proud. I see someone ahead of me and I feel jealous. Sometimes, I am so caught up in the race that days go by and I do not even notice the passing of time. I come home to a pile of unfinished projects and unformed ideas and unrealized dreams. I feel overwhelmed.

Perhaps it is time to begin living more iteratively. Perhaps life is more a series of new beginnings than a linear race to the inevitable end. Every morning when I wake up, I realize I have a new day to make the most of--and so do you!


This Ash Wednesday post is a follow up to my earlier thoughts on Beginnings:

5 comments:

  1. "...And you will wake feeling like dawn." -- One of the reasons I love being a morning person. ;)

    Focus on your finished projects, your formed ideas and your realized dreams. Be the architect for what more you want to accomplish in work and play. Take one day at a time. Live in the here and now. Live without regrets.

    And know that others are surmising their self identities and accomplishments against yours. It's human nature. We all do it.

    What's more important is not being ahead or behind the other people in our lives, but being connected with them and grateful for the perspective and new ideas they give us. Use their "wins" as your inspiration!

    Yes, enjoy every new day! Each one is a gift!

    And remember, we are all in this together!

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