New Beginnings
In honor of the new year, I’m sharing a bit of this poem about new beginnings that I love. These are the first and second to last stanzas. You can read the whole poem here.
For a New Beginning
by John O’Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge…
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire….
Endings
A friend shared this poem with me after I left my teaching job of 20 years. I thought a lot about these lines:
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered.
I loved working with the children my old job, but working with the administration had become problematic–and it was time for me to walk away.
These lines also remind me of a summer job I had when I was in high school. I worked at a federal arsenal in a department working with foreign arms sales. My job involved filling out forms with 10 copies–back in the day when multiple copies were made with carbon paper and any mistakes had to be corrected on each page. The summer before, I’d worked as a data processor, punching data onto punch cards. Wow! That’s a blast from the past!!
Anyhow, the point I’m meandering around to is that some of my colleagues–I was the only summer hire–would talk about having only 10 years to retirement or 12 or 6 or whatever. It shocked me that people would stay in a job they didn’t like just to receive a great retirement package. I thought–and still think– that years, although they pass more quickly now, are too long to spend looking forward to retirement.
I haven’t done that. My 20-year school didn’t even have a retirement package, but that’s another story.
New years and new beginnings are gifts waiting to be unwrapped.
Poetry Friday
Welcome to the first Poetry Friday of the year (although I’m actually writing this on Saturday). Thanks to Carol for hosting and rounding up all of the poems–be sure to check them out.
Thanks, as always, for stopping by.
And happy new year!
xoxo
