This is the time of year when many of us think about new beginnings. Each New Year’s Day we write the date — 1/1 — and our hopes are that we can make a new start in life; our wish is to wipe clean the slate our former mistakes, leave them behind us… in the past, where they belong.
But, is January 1st our only opportunity to change during the year? Is New Year’s Day our only doorway into a better, brighter future? How do we feel on 3/1, and 7/1, or 11/1? Do we believe that we have to wait for the next 1/1 to have our chance at making a fresh start in life? If so, we have yet to fully understand the true essence of a new beginning.
The great sages have always said that the real source of new beginnings has nothing to do with the date on a calendar or any special event. There are no limitations on newness, no conditions. Its source endlessly pours out newness in every moment.
Right now is always the point of a new beginning. This present moment is always new. And if we will join it consciously, we can be new too. Here is a sampling of encouraging wisdom that tells us this transforming truth…
Now or Never! You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
— Henry David Thoreau (1817)
Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.
— James Joyce (1882)
Enlightenment is the understanding that this is all, that this is perfect, that this is it. Enlightenment is not an achievement, it is an understanding that there is nothing to achieve, nowhere to go.
— Osho (1931)
Truth is not something lying in time, in the future, but is something here, now, only above us, above our present consciousness.
— Dr. Maurice Nicoll (1884)
A life lived for tomorrow never comes, a life lived for yesterday never changes but a life lived for today is full of wonder, mystery and the choice to live happily ever after moment by moment.
— Jackson Kiddard (1902)
And here’s one more from OneJourney founder Guy Finley…
We will never again hope, in vain, for a “better time to come” once we realize this spiritual truth: the character and quality of all our moments ahead are determined by what we give ourselves to in the now.
— Guy Finley (1949)
Harness the New Strength in a New Beginning That Is Never Not Happening
One of our greatest gifts is the fact that no matter how things may appear, we always have the power to recapture our attention, bring it back to the present moment, and start life over.
Here is some guiding wisdom from Guy Finley that can help you make an instantaneous transformation whenever you remember it:
Before you can learn how to change your destiny, you must first realize that secret place within yourself where your own future is created. You must consciously enter that place of power where all of your life-choices are made for you. It’s called the present moment: The now. And this now is the seed of all that comes later. The following paragraph helps us see into this great mystery.
It’s only what you do right this moment, right now, that’s the seed of personal change. And in the endless beauty and mystery of what is the now, this same seed of change is also the seed of your new and higher nature.
Grasp the meaning of the next sentence, fully, and you’ll have your first glimpse of just one of the special ways in which the power of the present moment can help you change your destiny.
If you choose to change right now, then you won’t have to worry about how to be different next time!
In fact, choose to change now, and that moment will never come for you to worry about how to be better next time. Why? Because your conscious choice for real change in the present moment automatically cancels the need for a better you in a better future. Why? Because all will be better for you now, which is the only time it really matters!
Make it your moment to moment practice to stay awake, and to watch for all the opportunities that your own now presents. Keep your efforts personal, practical, and to the point. If your inner work doesn’t transform the whole of your life into a more relaxed, amazing, and uplifting experience, then you’re dreaming; not changing.
Here’s an encouragement. Your efforts to contribute to these studies turn their revelations into a part of your own evolving nature. And as you awaken to this higher life within yourself, you naturally attract higher and happier events. There is no such thing as a wasted step when your final destination is self-transformation.
Do you have an inspiring quote from your own tradition that helps people understand their never-ending power to start life over? Click here to submit it to the OneJourney Living Book. It may be just the message someone else needs to hear to see through a seemingly impenetrable wall of suffering and make a new beginning.
Best wishes,
Dr. Ellen Dickstein
The OneJourney Project
