Tonight's Poet Corner: Introspection
I don't believe in such a thing as new beginnings. New beginnings imply starting fresh with no baggage, and in all honesty, to do such would be asking for a full frontal lobotomy before stepping back out into the polluted air of the real world. In fact, I would say going for a new beginning is unhealthy, not only in the fact that to do so would be to erase important lessons from the past, but also in the idea that what you ended was something not remotely beneficial at all.
I do understand the importance of being able to live your life as if you've been reborn. Whether it's through religion, romance, a career choice, or simply bailing out of a place with one suitcase and a wad of cash, we all sometimes feel the need to get away and start somewhere else. But that's the thing we have to remember: We still lived those years of our past, and they were still worth something. Even if the only happy moments you can scrape from the wreckage of your previous experiences only amount to a full teaspoon, you still learned something.
Therefore, I'd like to propose a different phrase compared to "new beginnings," and that's "new strength." We as human beings naturally aspire to be something greater than what we are, even if perhaps the strive to do so is nigh on unfathomable. As a result, when things go wrong, we'd rather wipe the slate clean than use the past as a stepping stone to improve or evolve. And that's the key word here: Evolution. We evolve from our traumas to become stronger individuals in the long run. Because of that evolution, we can then reach for the aspirations that maybe we've been fighting for in the first place. That's why "new strength" strikes a more resounding chord with me - because by learning from our past and evaluating our aspirations, we find new strength to become better people.
I know many people, most of them good friends, who are in dark places. What we forget sometimes is that it takes a long time to climb out of a ditch we may have fallen in or even been thrown in. I have my own battles as well, and I as well as so many others fight every day to conquer both old and new fears. We learn patience. We persevere. We sometimes feel like giving up. But even though we may delay, we never, ever stop.
I've had my own share of "new strength" this week despite setbacks, due to a lovely visit with my girlfriend and a brand new teaching opportunity. I can't say I couldn't be happier, but I can safely say I am very, very happy with the way things are going. I'm healing, I'm learning, and I'm growing. And that, to me, is true strength.
Writer's Quotation of the Night:
I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.
- Peter De Vries
Have a great night and a great weekend, everyone.
I do understand the importance of being able to live your life as if you've been reborn. Whether it's through religion, romance, a career choice, or simply bailing out of a place with one suitcase and a wad of cash, we all sometimes feel the need to get away and start somewhere else. But that's the thing we have to remember: We still lived those years of our past, and they were still worth something. Even if the only happy moments you can scrape from the wreckage of your previous experiences only amount to a full teaspoon, you still learned something.
Therefore, I'd like to propose a different phrase compared to "new beginnings," and that's "new strength." We as human beings naturally aspire to be something greater than what we are, even if perhaps the strive to do so is nigh on unfathomable. As a result, when things go wrong, we'd rather wipe the slate clean than use the past as a stepping stone to improve or evolve. And that's the key word here: Evolution. We evolve from our traumas to become stronger individuals in the long run. Because of that evolution, we can then reach for the aspirations that maybe we've been fighting for in the first place. That's why "new strength" strikes a more resounding chord with me - because by learning from our past and evaluating our aspirations, we find new strength to become better people.
I know many people, most of them good friends, who are in dark places. What we forget sometimes is that it takes a long time to climb out of a ditch we may have fallen in or even been thrown in. I have my own battles as well, and I as well as so many others fight every day to conquer both old and new fears. We learn patience. We persevere. We sometimes feel like giving up. But even though we may delay, we never, ever stop.
I've had my own share of "new strength" this week despite setbacks, due to a lovely visit with my girlfriend and a brand new teaching opportunity. I can't say I couldn't be happier, but I can safely say I am very, very happy with the way things are going. I'm healing, I'm learning, and I'm growing. And that, to me, is true strength.
Writer's Quotation of the Night:
I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.
- Peter De Vries
Have a great night and a great weekend, everyone.
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