Beginnings

        "A new year is a chance, even momentarily, to erase mistakes from the past, or if not to erase, then to put them in the past. It is a time when many take time to look over the past and assess their growth and their progress. Others go on as if it is another day. We need 'markers' in our life - times when we come to a stop or pause and renew ourselves. It is a good feeling to begin fresh with something new, and at this time we are already jumping ahead as we hear so much talk about the millennium.

        Life is a thread of thought, but sometimes it gets unraveled or knotted! We lose our way or our focus, our intent, our courage. We lose our sense of progress or we settle into a routine which denies us an opportunity to widen our growth. We move from day to day without any idea of what our goal is or what we need to do to reach it. Perhaps we celebrate the ending of a year as much as the beginning of a new one. It does give us a chance to try a little harder, to reach out in a new way, to begin with renewed spirit.

        With a new beginning, we often forget that we need to leave some things behind. We need to let go of the 'baggage' that weighs us down. Often we are so busy, we are not even aware we are carrying extra weight of worry or concerns or habits that need to be changed. And why should we? Change is difficult, sometimes uncomfortable, and takes us out of a routine that probably has become a part of our life. Yet when we come to the end of a year, and begin a new one, it makes us aware of the passage of time, the need to look back, and to look forward. We need to pause and become conscious of where we are, what we have accomplished, what we want to do, and what we have become. It is at the beginning of a new year that we have a chance to truly begin as it is new, a time of uncharted events. Time for the ship to set sail, so to speak. As you begin this new year, take the lessons learned from the past, look them over, learn from them, forgive yourself for mistakes, and ready yourself for a new and fresh beginning. Become all you can be in this coming new year."