Israfil,
As with all things, there is a beginning and there is an end.Just as every day has a dawn and every night has a dusk, so too does every life have a beginning and an end. We are born into this world and, inevitably, we will leave it one day. No matter who we are, or what we do in our lives, this is the one truth that we all share. And yet, even though we know that death is a part of life, it is still something that we often fear. We don’t like to think about our own mortality, or the fact that one day we will no longer be here. But death is not something to be feared. It is simply the natural end to a life well lived.
The end is not the end of life, the end of strife, the end of all things as you have come to know them. The passing of yet another year is difficult to comprehend. We are still standing in the face of so much that has occurred on the globe. It has been a difficult year for many people due to natural catastrophes, political unrest, and personal problems. But despite everything, we have persisted. We often take stock of our experiences and accomplishments towards the end of the year. It’s also a good opportunity to make goals for the future and take stock of where we want to go. Let’s vow to do better this year. Let’s make a commitment to being nicer and more understanding. Let’s make a commitment to improving.
The end is another name for transformation, releasing old ways, thoughts, emotions. The beginning is not starting from the very beginning as if nothing has occurred. Everything you have experienced, everyone you have met along the way has brought you to where you are. Your past and present are different places in time that didn’t exist before they happened. That’s all they are: places in time that didn’t exist before they happened. These experiences don’t define who or what you are because they only exist in the context of when they did happen. You can only experience them as something now, not then or ever again—they don’t exist outside of their moment of occurrence. They’re like a book that someone wrote and then sold to a publisher who then printed it out and put it on shelves for everyone else to buy and read. But if someone were to go back and rewrite parts of that book based on how it was actually written or how people actually thought at the time, then there would be inconsistencies in plotlines, character development, and so on until there wasn’t anything left to tell the story at all.
Each breath brings a choice; a choice to think, feel and act differently. Each breath is a beginning. When you’ve been through a lot, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You may have been through some dark times and struggled to make it through. But this doesn’t mean that everything is lost, and that there’s no hope for you. You are here because you have been through something difficult, and now it is time for your life to change. The beginning is not starting from the very beginning as if nothing has occurred. Everything you have experienced, everyone you have met along the time has brought you to where you are. When we look back at our lives and think about how far we have come, how much better off we are now than we were before those experiences happened; we should be proud of ourselves. Begin where you are, moving past where you were.
What if I told you there is an alternative, though? What if I said that everything is about to change? What if I told you that what happened in the past just served as a prelude to new beginnings? What if I told you that every moment of your life has helped you become more aware of who you are right now, which is what counts most? We begin to assume that things will always be this way. We persuade ourselves that we are no longer in charge of our life. Transformation is the willingness to see things, people and situations differently. Begin where you are.
