New Beginnings

Each new year is rather interesting. It is a time when people review and reassess and resolve to change. I've had times when I have wanted to shed everything and start over. I go through phases when I try. It isn't easy but I do feel better when I do get rid of the excesses that accumulate.

Moving back to California into a smaller house has forced us to get rid of things. Two years later we are still in the process of paring down to fit into our place. It feels good to get rid of the clutter. Having kids also forced me to pare down what I was doing professionally. Because I wasn't ready to let my professional life go, I held on to things when I should have made a clean break. I tend to hang on to things too long or move on too quickly before I am finished with the last thing. I then carry one phase of life into the next rather than move on. It always makes for a messy transition.

I also think that while there is certainly an urge to purge the old and start new, you are still you. Several times I have moved to a new place where I knew no one and thought it would be a new beginning where I could be anything and anyone I wanted. For good or bad I was still me. Even when you do change, the past is still there to be remembered and learned from. Even though new things begin you can't leave the past entirely behind. I don't think I would want to.

More on new beginnings at Wordful Wednesday