Always We Begin Again
Happy New Year! On this first day of January, I am filled with the hope of a new beginning. Because, as St. Benedict beautifully said, “Always We Begin Again.” In my thoughts and in my writing, I seem to keep going back to the idea of choice, our personal choice to do or not to do something.
Each and every day, no matter what we face, each and every one of us has the opportunity to make choices about how we respond to the circumstances of our life. We can choose hope, choose love, choose quiet, choose gratitude, choose optimism, choose Silver Linings. Or not. Either way, this process of choosing is an active choice, not a passive one.
This philosophy transcends illness and applies to every aspect of life. After all, each minute, hour, day, week, month and year begins again.
We can also choose to begin again. Wishing you a year that is filled with above all else, health, happiness, love and of course, Silver Linings.
Thank you for all of your writing and sharing! Happy New Year!
My absolute pleasure, Carolyn. Thank you for writing and for reading!
Love this Holly! At a particularly dark time in my life, I remember sitting in a church and saying…."I choose life". We decide if we are going to fully live our lives…and how.
Happy New Year!
So glad, Jane. Thank you for sharing. I wholeheartedly agree that we do indeed decide. Best wishes!
Hmm, I feel as though I've been doing so well despite health setbacks that the idea of beginning again is an unsettling one for me this start of 2014. However, with everyday we begin again… and we carry forward. I'd like to take the best of what has happened, and carry it forward into this new year.
Cheers to you and your fresh starts. Good luck in 2014. ~Catherine
This is so beautifully said, Catherine. Thank you so much. Sending you all of my best wishes this year!
This post and Frances Schultz' post are the perfect way to begin 2014, both are going on my inspiration board by my desk at home. I choose to see hope, joy. Even if they are just little glimmers on the horizon, they are there and I will choose to see them. Tasha Tudor said "The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take Joy!" Here's to a happy, healthy 2014!
Thanks, E.B.! Wishing you a happy and HEALTHY 2014 as well!
Thank you for this beautiful reminder that we do always have a choice… and thank you EB for the shout-out!
Absolutely, Frances! xx
By the way, Anne Lamott’s "Help. Thanks. Wow." is a little gem, keep it on my nighttable. Don't know where I read about it first, Hollye's blog or Frances', but it is a wonderful read.
Fantastic! Thanks, E.B.!
With the start of every new year, every new day, we begin anew. We may stumble, we may fall, we may fail, but the important thing is "always to begin again". I think all of us prefer to make the same choices you list here: hope,love, gratitude,happiness,and the silver linings in every situation.
Wishing you and all your readers a healthy and
Happy New Year!
Indeed we do, Carolee. Each and every day brings opportunity! Happy and Healthy New Year to you! Thank you for being so wonderfully engaged all year!