“Mysteriously, each morning, we are born again. We emerge out of sleep refreshed, renewed, with an invigorating sense of being alive.” –Romano Guardini, Sacred Signs
Each day comes with its tasks, often repetitive of the day before. Some of them bring new experiences and thoughts and some simply seem to ache of sameness or boredom, perhaps even lack of purpose. Maybe we don’t even give a thought to the beginning of a day and simply let it take over us without preparation or purpose. And then on to the next, like a repetitive wheel of motional nothingness.
It was last week that I was reflecting on the idea of a day, a span of time that waxes and wanes regularly. It encloses our activity, our rest, and experience into one very succinct spot of time.
I had been a bit disappointed with my week overall. My feelings fit perfectly into the saying that portrays time as a mischievous child running off to hide, leaving you wondering where he went. Time had escaped from me and I found myself thinking: How can I fix this? Or even, could it be fixed?
Initiate. This was the word that came to me as I ended a long week of failed beginnings. And so the challenge I gave myself was to Initiate every day within the coming week. To take hold of it as my own, not in a controlling, manipulative way so as to set expectations that I could not meet, but with the energy to always begin.
And so the effect of this personal challenge was a renewed energy. Each morning, my first act of initiation began with the moment I arose. To initiate my day was to simply will that I would put all my energy into each activity and dare myself out of my comfort zone. By making the day my own and joining intentionality with energy, my actions flowed with a purpose and commitment that allowed the day to become its very best.
And what did become of my days that week? Truly, this spirit of initiation did not “change my life.” But it did change me. It let me see the energy of greeting people whom you pass by in the hall. It gave me the daring to share a profound thought with a near stranger. It gave me the grace to see that in every moment of every day there was a chance to begin again and not let the weight of past failures define your future initiations. By focusing on the quality of time rather than the lack of time in my life, my perspective was completely flipped. I could see the value of each moment rather than the fact that I didn’t have enough of them.
The beginning of a story has always been one of my favorite parts. All the ingredients for the middle and the end are present, waiting to be activated by the energy of the characters. The potential for risk, growth, success, failure and joy are all there. And the cool thing about our lives as time-filled pockets of growth is that we have the potential to initiate a new beginning to our story every single day of our lives. So what are we waiting for? LET US BEGIN.
