A NEW BEGINNING-FRESH CHAPTER IN LIFE.

The opportunity for a new beginning in life can be abundant. A new beginning in any part of your life – whether starting a new job or a new relationship; relocating to a new city or country; or assembling a new blog – can be inspiring and exciting, and almost inevitably evokes a range of emotions. It is full of hope and anticipation; of, perhaps, a fear of the unknown; and of a degree of mourning for what was left behind. But this, really, is what life should be all about: testing ourselves by facing up to new challenges. Each new beginning in life is almost certain to present a worthy new challenge of some sort or other.

By embarking upon a new beginning, we are obliged to reminisce (at least briefly) about what that “beginning” is replacing – as a new chapter of life commences, an earlier chapter inevitably closes. As Seneca (the Roman philosopher) is attributed with saying: “every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end”. That process of reminiscing is important: it serves to remind us how fleeting life is, and of the importance of living a full and varied life.

Life is, in many ways, like a book: it is made up of a number of chapters; there's a beginning, a middle and an end; during the course of the story, we're likely to encounter a hero (or two) and, most likely, several villains; and, if it was a good book, we might hope to learn a few lessons, laugh, cry and increase our understanding of who we are or of the world around us.When each of us comes to look back on the lives that we have led, how pivotal will those various new beginnings in our lives prove to have been? Doubtless some new beginnings may have led to nowhere; others may have improved the quality of our lives more than we could ever have foreseen at the time.

However, one thing is for sure: taking the time to identify the opportunities in life to embark upon a new beginning is a valuable endeavor - each new beginning is the opportunity to write a new chapter of our lives; to experience a new adventure. Like any good book, life should be full of adventure. Shalom!