New beginnings, new life
In January it’s common, at least here in the UK, to consider making a change in our lives. These are often related to personal goals and achievements like getting a new job, losing weight, being healthier or learning something new.
Therefore it would be very easy for a writing prompt with the title, New Beginnings, to ask you to think about the resolutions you may or may not be planning to make. But that would be too easy and, if I may say so, a little obvious so instead I want to make it a little more challenging and think about new beginnings from the perspective of literal new beginnings – birth.
In this challenge I’d like you to write about giving life to something, it may be a new person, an animal, an idea, or a landscape wherever the idea of birth (and new beginnings) takes you.
As usual, if you want to share your thoughts and writing I’d love to read it, and so would my lovely readers. However, you may prefer it to remain private and for your notebook only.
My effort is below:
The deck shifted underfoot as another seismic shock rolled a wave into our side. We were making headway, it just didn’t feel fast enough to escape the lava streaming down the mountainside.
I watched, fascinated as molten rock steamed when in the cold water, starting to solidify. New land being made out of destruction. Had it always been this way? Was all the land we lived on made out of the white heat of violent eruption?
A finger traced a line gently down my back. I turned. It was Jaime.
“You look far away my love”.
I nodded. “I was just mulling over the big questions of life, you know like where we come from”.
I could say these things to him, he always understood the bigger picture was something I was focused on.
He smiled. “One day you’ll solve the mystery. For now though you need to eat”.
He guided me along the deck and into the makeshift cabin we’d been allocated along with three other escapees.
I took one last look at the remains of my home wondering when I’d be able to walk the sands of the newly created beach.
(Image by Julius Silver from Pixabay)
Nice one Linda – always worth remembering that our planet is as violent as it is fragile – and any time we think we’re in control, she will remind us otherwise.
My take on the prompt took me into gentler waters, thinking about how we get to re-birth our own lives any time that we want to. My meandering thoughts made it to my website, before they made it here, but you’ll find them at https://lesleya.mystrikingly.com/blog/rebirthing
I love the fact you are taking the time to explore yourself Lesley and particularly your “ongoing process of stripping back, emptying, letting go, creating space and then seeing what flows into it.” It seems to me that this is something we can all do all the time even around the commitments we believe we have. Life is about a series of choices, whether you want to accept that as true or not doesn’t mean it’s not. And sometimes we make a choice that we don’t like because we fear what we think might be the consequences of not choosing it. Is that really the way to live a life? So where you are, what you’re doing and how you’re approaching what surely will turn out (whether planned or not) the best version of you is the way that life, when we choose to live it mindfully, wholeheartedly, allowing it to lead, always works.
Oh I definitely agree with all of that. Two of my founding principles are (1) we always have a choice and (2) the choices we make add up into the life we live. And the best compliment I have ever received was when someone told me that “whatever you do, you do it whole-heartedly”. Like all compliments it’s not 100% accurate, but I’ll take it and revel in it none-the-less.
That’s a compliment I’d love to receive too Lesley – so well done for being passed it. 🙂