A fresh start! It’s easy when in the journey through life we enjoy the familiarity of routine. It may simply be waking up to that warm body beside you, into the shower, to the kitchen to drink that smoothie, then enjoying that exercise routine. Those fresh starts each day are easy!
What if one day your world is turned upside down? Your spouse says, “I want a divorce!” A pandemic creates a shutdown and your family’s routine is brought to a halt. Or you hear the news that your financial resources have disappeared. Now a fresh start takes on a whole new meaning!
Where do I begin?
Begin slowly. A shock has happened!
I remember that moment. I was in the kitchen working away. My spouse was in one of our leather loungers in the living room. We were embroiled in a fierce battle of words. Suddenly he turned and said “I am leaving!” Now it wasn’t the very first such expression but this time I knew in the depths of my heart he was deadly serious! No cajoling of mine changed his mind. I knew my world would never be the same.
If your mind is like mine it is easy to spin out of control. Every negative sub-conscious emotion floods to the surface and the self recriminations tear at your heart. “oh God, what did I do…..”, “I shouldn’t have…..”,”What if I had of….” Blame, guilt, regret, shame all can do more damage to your heart than the actual situation.
Now this may sound strange but begin with looking at your life and say, “I am so grateful for…..” I didn’t know the power of this tool to the depth I do today but I wish I had used it that night. Mourning and grief are inevitable and must be processed but gratefulness has the strangest way of bringing peace.
If your world right now is upside down…take a moment and just reflect, “What is beautiful…what is good…what is right in my world?” Begin there!
There are anchors in your life that do and will remain. Focus there! Let peace rather than utter dismay flood your heart. I have a section in my new book, The UPSIDE OF A DOWNTURN that shares about the power of gratefulness.
A fresh start is precisely what my book is about. My sub-title is “Sometimes when things look like they are falling apart they are actually falling into place”. The second sub-title is “8 ways To Get Back on the Winning side of Life”.
The book has been submitted to the publishers for editing and then on to be printed. I anticipate it will be available by fall.
My heart is to support those who need a fresh start. The steps I suggest are rooted in age-defying principles. They work! I have been through three major downturns and many, many minor ones in my life. These are tried and proven steps that put my life back on track. Mind you sometimes a NEW path!
Through the months I will be sharing excerpts from my book and hopefully encouraging you with wisdom I found rebuilt my life time and time again.
