Starting Over?

I’ve started something new again recently. As I look back on my past, I realize I’ve started something new many times. Some of us think of it as “starting over,” but it’s really not starting over because that connotates going back to the beginning and taking the same path to get to where we are again, now. It’s actually taking a step in a new direction. It’s about creating new experiences. Life isn’t a linear journey, mapped out for or by us, with the end always in sight. It has many stops and starts, obstacles, decisions, etc.

Seventy years, and I’m still starting new things. I used to feel like a hamster on its wheel, endlessly chasing some finish line that never came. But I realized something liberating a few years ago: those “restarts” weren’t failures, they were adventures. Life isn’t a straight, paved road, it’s more like a winding path, with switchbacks and sudden climbs. Every new path I took, every challenge I faced, every time (and there were many!) I picked myself up and dusted myself off wasn’t a step back, it was a stitch in the tapestry of my life. Sure, some threads might be rougher, darker even, but they add texture, depth, and tell a story of resilience. Maybe I didn’t always know where I was going, but every twist and turn led me here, to this moment, with a heart full of stories and a spirit that’s far richer for the journey. So, to anyone feeling lost in their own restarts, I say this: embrace the detours, the climbs, and the unexpected turns. They’re not mistakes, they’re the threads that weave the vibrant tapestry of your unique and extraordinary life.

And trust me, that tapestry is a masterpiece in the making.