Begin Again

Some think that each new year is a chance to

Begin Again

with resolutions for a new improved you. Those kind of resolutions quickly dissolve for me. In fact I don’t make resolutions any day of the year. The idea of a fresh start is appealing I know, but we carry our past in our cells. Why not instead, simply strive to do our best, whatever that is in each precious moment. We strive, succeed sometimes, fail other times. That is life. 

Each moment is an opportunity to begin again, letting go of regrets, embracing imperfection, and leaning into beauty and joy.

My goal is to be awake and alive, to grow and learn as a human being, to see, share, and experience beauty and joy, to be real, sharing the struggles and the stories of living, to be as kind as I know how to be, to work in my small sphere of influence to be a force of good in a world full of suffering.

Life is a struggle. But if we are lucky we love, laugh, lose, and learn and grow. The only way to protect yourself from loss is to not love anyone or anything. And that’s no way to live.

Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New Year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.

   – Susan Sontag

Wishing you a year of being awake and alive, each moment a chance to begin again, choosing joy and kindness.

May you walk in beauty.

Note: Flower photos from last year, some of them re-edited today.