As one looks about life’s workshop, fragments lie strewn about, discarded and in disarray; hopeful plans lie in tatters; and self-recrimination hangs haughtily in the air….

How did one’s life come to this? 
(All of one’s best laid plans, all of one’s joyful aspirations, destroyed after an unexpected wave of madness…)

Life is not supposed to be like this, is it? IS IT?
(Incredulity follows mockingly as one looks over the remaining pieces with sadness and a hint of grief…)

Is this it?

Was it worth it?

Should I begin again? 

HOW can I even do so…

…and why should I even bother to?

All of these valid questions—coming to the forefront of a life that seems to have self-destruct—are yet even more disheartening and irreverent. And yet, the strictures of the past have been broken and its weight and expectations no longer hang. It is at this time—in the void—when one is questioning everything, that one can actually begin something heartfelt, sincere, pure, and NEW…

On Starting Over

Sometimes being first doesn’t mean doing something untried. Sometimes it means being willing to take that first step after something has devastated you. It means being willing to try again, to hope again, in the face of (and in spite of) the pain of shock or loss that has off-balanced you. Starting over in this unfamiliar space means not only overcoming the fear of uncertainty but also the fear and risk of potential disappointment…and failure. It’s unnerving, and yet it’s the best time to amend, to take the insights learned, the false starts accumulated, and turn them into the wealth that their articulation has given. For one masters one’s greatest lessons—and uncovers one’s greatest gifts—by taking a risk, by daring to move forward, by daring to reach beyond the comfortable…and the dispiriting. For the wisdom gained, the self-awareness attained channels inward, molding and shaping a core that is enduring and everlasting…

In truth, it is not in what remains that one finds strength and power but in the forging of the self.  For starting over is not about loss but about the transformative opportunity to be, to build, and to express an articulated self in its new and continuous state of evolution.

Namaste.