Summer of New Beginning

The poet David Whyte writes in Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning:

“Beginning well or beginning poorly,
what is important is simply to begin,
but the ability to make a good beginning
is also an art form.
Beginning well involves a clearing away
of the crass, the irrelevant and the complicated to find the beautiful,
often hidden lineaments
of the essential and the necessary.”

While January’s New Year is culturally the time of new beginnings, my body and being open more easily to beginning something new, experimenting, or going in a new direction. The sun, light, and warmth of the long days of summer offer a compelling invitation. It seems easier to find motivation, creativity and willing partners in this season.

This summer I find myself experimenting with Virtual Co-Working, Nordic walking, and another round of Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages. Beneath all of these endeavors is David Whyte’s invitation to begin well and find the beautiful.

Questions of the Month

What are you beginning?

Are you beginning poorly or well?

What lies beneath this beginning?

Practice of the Month

Self-Observation: Beginning

Reflect on the level of routine in your life. For one week, introduce something new to your routine. What will you begin? Why?

After a week of experimenting with this, what have you learned about yourself? Will you continue this new beginning or try another?