Beginnings
When I looked at writing a blog for this website, I considered it might be apt to start with beginnings.
When we contemplate starting something what goes on for us? I know for me, as I write this, I am aware that I am slightly anxious about commencing a blog; I am also excited and feel challenged in my commitment to what, I hope, may be fruitful for those who encounter it.
Choosing this topic also invited me to explore the breadth of beginnings we encounter and the manner in which we meet them.
Beginning life
The cycle of life is true for us all, it envelops us all. It wraps us up in it’s surety, it‘s familiarity. Nature reflects this with abundance. I find it comforting that our life and all life shares the same arc; that the beauty of what we see in the world around us, is our own beauty reflected back to us.
Beginnings are vital, not only do they mark the start, the promise; they also establish where we come from. They give us a point to embark from. So as the bud becomes a flower, the flower always holds within it; that it commenced life as a tiny blossom, needing the sun’s light and warmth to grow. For us too, as we embark on our life’s journey we also hold within us, the seeds of our beginning and the story of our development.
We are born into relationship. How does this inform our lives day to day? Through how we feel about ourselves, through how we feel about others and importantly through how we relate to others.
Self awareness
Commencing on the journey of self discovery is a very enriching and deep experience that lasts as long as we breathe. Carl Jung wrote ‘who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakens’, which offers a reason and purpose of getting to know our inner landscape.
How do we start? By asking ourselves how we are in a meaningful way, we begin to get to know what is going on for us and with this knowledge we are able to relate to ourselves in a compassionate way; and this leads to engaging with others in a more real way. Both combine towards a more fulfilling life.
Self awareness encompasses all our experience and perhaps this is why it may seem daunting- it may embrace where we come from, our beginning and upbringing; both inform our present; and also how we look towards the future. We often move through life, not ever feeling like we are full actors in our own narrative; self awareness offers us the opportunity to embrace our lives and participate fully in it.
It can be difficult to cross the threshold into self awareness, all our experiences of starting in other scenarios flood in with the present anticipated experience. When our experiences of beginning cause distress we must pay it some attention and care. We can change the story to have a better, more satisfactory conclusion.
When beginning we don’t know where we are going to end up exactly. If we can learn to trust our inner wisdom; which will guide us safely, it can be a journey enormously worthwhile in embarking on.
Leave a Reply