“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.”
(Lao Tzu)
We can begin each day with connecting with the Divine in our hearts. You can do this reciting a wazifa, a mantra, an affirmation, a prayer with all the concentration and devotion you can bring to the practice. Each of us connects to the Divine in our own way. By consciously intending to connect, we can find our way to start each day within a field of sacred relationship. Begin each day wholeheartedly!
Each moment during the day allows for a new start. If we simply take a deep breath and enter our heart, we can begin our task anew with a new energy, refreshed by our love for the Divine.
By watching nature and how it changes through the seasons, daily through the everchanging weather, the passing of day and night, the changing of the light and its qualities, we can have a metaphor for impermanence. The falling and melting of the snow, the greening and the colorful falling of the leaves, the warming and cooling of the air throughout the day, give us opportunities to dee the natural changes. By realizing how natural change is all around us, we can see beauty in the variety. We can learn to fully appreciate and embrace diversity, innovation and transformation.
Time is inextricably connecting with beginnings and impermanence. Morning, afternoon and evening, day and night, winter and summer, the autumn of life all occur and offer opportunities for new beginnings.
Everything changes. Nothing lasts forever, even though it might seem like it does. The Buddhist concept of impermanence reminds us that everything dies, our bodies, our ideas, our relationships. Clinging causes suffering. Letting go allows us to move forward, and begin anew. And remembering that our love for those we lose can be a gift, deepening our ability to love again if we allow for a new beginning.
Absence and disappearance of those we care about is part of life. Our friendships change as we change our desires, occupations, entertainment activities. We begin anew with new everchanging relationships. People in our lives pass away to another realm. We are left behind, missing them and yet our love for them remains, changed to memories and longing.
Each time we notice and realize something about ourselves that we do not like, we are given an opportunity, a condition favorable for a new beginning. Perhaps we vow to not react the same way. Perhaps we promise ourselves that we will do the work now, today. Sometimes we turn from the ruminating, the situation to the Divine, asking for assistance, reframing the pain of the moment as a gift from God, that we might learn and grow as we go. By noticing the things we are successful at, our strengths, our accomplishments, we see that we have the power to begin something new. Gratitude reminds us that love is at the basis of all our achievements.
Forgiveness of ourselves and of others opens a doorway for a new beginning. It frees us from the bonds of recrimination and anger. Conflict causes mental turmoil, which may cause us to run around and around with thoughts of pain and suffering.[1] Forgiveness doesn’t mean saying what the other person did was okay. But by turning our minds to the Divine, we can remove some of our own suffering. Accepting the humanity and weaknesses of our friends and family and showing them love in their vulnerability and imperfection gives an opportunity for change and new beginnings.
The well-spring of hope streaming from our hearts gives us the courage to move forward, to begin again.[2]The belief that life and circumstances can get better can motivate us to take the first step, to begin a new path toward happiness.
[1] Enright, Robert (2015). Eight Keys to Forgiveness. Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_keys_to_forgiveness
[2] Ayya Yeshe, Sister Clear grace and Oren Jay Sofer (2020). Ask the teachers: What is the Buddhist view of hope? Retrieved from https://www.lionsroar.com/ask-the-teachers-what-is-the-buddhist-view-of-hope/