The day slipped away before you could catch it. A silly dream you once had still urges you onward, despite your neglect. Perhaps, this very moment feels oddly impossible — distancing or frustrating. Maybe, right now, you can’t see anything beyond your limited vision of the world. Or your ego is running rampant, insisting that life treats you unfairly. You want to give up, maybe, or at least pick a different path. One that seems easier, right?
Yet, two brilliant words can quickly bring things back into alignment.
Always Begin.
Everything has been figured out, except how to live.
~ Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
Let’s say, for instance, that you’ve decided to live from a more spiritual perspective. That implies walking away from the expectations of a society that loves conformity, but might not admit it. It also means being willing to honor that intuitive voice that speaks to you in moments of silence. It means letting people down now and then, knowing, of course, that priorities and values and lifestyle choices are important. Even as they evolve. (We are allowed to change, right? And personal growth is a good thing!)
Yet, there are certainly days when you feel drawn to what was once comfortable, but not necessarily, enlightened. And, yes, you might think: this is too hard.
And maybe in the moment, it’s true. Or it feels true, at least.
But instead of letting this kind of awareness bother you, you can encourage yourself to “always begin.” To start over. To capture the moment anew. It sounds strangely easy, doesn’t it? Could it really be that simple?
Some of you may believe that “always beginning” is for youngsters or for slackers — that this kind of daring philosophy will take you nowhere. Maybe you want to move beyond beginnings because you desire a certain outcome.
But even in the middle of a project or when something is nearing completion, you are still “beginning.” Each day is a beginning. Each hour is a beginning. Each sentence I write is a beginning. Each breath taken is a new one.
So give yourself the freedom to “always begin.” To start fresh. To pick up something difficult once more. It may sound repetitive or even futile, but it’s just the opposite. It’s liberating. This moment doesn’t have to be perfect when you don’t see it as a final attempt. It can be whatever it is supposed to be and you can find peace in that … knowing the illusion of time is the only thing that locks you in place. That makes you feel like you aren’t getting somewhere fast enough. But that “sense of future” is imaginary. As Eckhart Tolle reminds us: “No one has found the future.”
Rest assured, your spirituality is timeless. Let go of outcome and simply begin again.
We may not have figured out how to live yet, but let us continue to try. Not giving up on the moment at hand. Despite challenges, worldly or personal, as we pick up the thread of life, we are renewed once more.
- Try it out this week. Let me know how it goes.
When was the last time you thought your were beyond beginnings? How did you handle it?
Blog by DazyDayWriter @ work in SunnyRoomStudio: all rights reserved.
