“No excuses. No regrets.” ~ Anonymous
New Beginnings
There are all kinds of new beginnings in life. Some we dread. Some we look forward to with excitement. Others we await with nervous anticipation.
My granddaughter was recently handed a new beginning as a high school graduate. As I listened to the speakers at her graduation ceremony, I felt a mixture of inspiration and nostalgia. One of the themes of the commencement was the same as a cross county t-shirt I once saw: “No excuses. No regrets.”
I thought of where I was when I graduated from high school and where I am today. I am not going to regret one single thing I did in my life that I did in good faith and with good intentions. A life of no excuses and no regrets is what we should all strive for every day.
We get a new beginning every single morning and we should grab the new day, whatever we are facing, with gusto and gratefulness! I think we should all live life a bit on the edge… boldly, fearlessly and with a sense of adventure.
Find Your Excitement!
The graduation letter I wrote to my granddaughter read: “Believe in yourself and what you choose to do. Don’t be afraid to make honest mistakes. Try to avoid them, but don’t live too cautiously. Have fun!”
We should all be just as excited about our new life as high school graduates are about theirs. We have the whole rest of our lives ahead of us! Don’t squander this opportunity. Step out of your comfort zone. Dream big! Write “Happy Graduation” in your daily planner at the top of the page in honor of your new stage; then appreciate and embrace this glorious, amazing, wild gift of a new beginning!
“No dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” ~ Philippians 3:13
There is nothing good that comes from a life after divorce when you didn’t want it and didn’t instigate it. Sorry but I have to disagree with you.
Pamela,
An unwanted midlife divorce is horrendous, painful and gut wrenching. It tears our hearts in two and disrupts our life and the things we held dear. As I moved through the jagged path of divorce, I leaned heavy upon Jesus. And slowly I went from waking up with the heavy blanket of sadness wrapped around me to waking feeling lighter and less encumbered. Eventually hope sprung within me and my life filled with joy.
Divorce is the most awful thing I’ve ever experienced. The brokenness. The massive amounts of tears and sobbing to my core. I wish no one had to experience it.
But for me, I have found a life on the other side of it. I am joyfully single and trust that my God is directing my paths as He has turned my mourning into dancing.
Take care dear one.
For some the journey is longer and harder, but with help working on it, there is good in life after divorce. Some have to work harder to let go of the anger and replace the loss with new joys.
Pamela – I agree that it is really hard to equate an unwanted midlife divorce to the excitement of a graduation, of any kind. When you are broadsided with the surprise, the confusion and that horrible gut-wrenching “what the what” is happening, there is no possible way to see it “as a graduation”. However; as time goes by and as perspectives change, life will continue. You will begin to see the “Spring”of the new-normal. I do not believe that a “new excitement” will ever happen, but a contentment and life will move you forward. We are all with you, we just do not all express it the same way. Hang in there, lady. You are a survivor!