Beginning Again

The first month of the year is usually a time of new beginnings. It’s a refreshing reminder of the opportunity we have to renew ourselves, to start over, to begin again.

TO BEGIN WITH

It’s the first Saturday of 2021 and I’m hoping for better, brighter days ahead.

However, we must be quick to realize that the New Year is only a measure in time, just another change in the calendar. When the calendar read “2021,” those who were anxious stayed worried. Those who were without light continued to stumble in the darkness. And those who struggled kept on being stressed.

Changing our lives start within our own minds and hearts. But it is only in Christ where we can find the power to create a new heart and mind for the better (2 Corinthians 5:17). In 2021, Jesus remains the only Savior from sin, the only Way to the Father, the only Truth that gives freedom, and the only Life worth living.

It’s only through Jesus Christ that we can truly stand firm and be courageous. That’s why I remain hopeful for a better, brighter 2021. Only because of Him.

A NEW BEGINNING

The first month of the year is usually a time of new beginnings. It’s a refreshing reminder of the opportunity we have to renew ourselves, to start over, to begin again.

At work, this is also the time for planning and preparing. For sorting first things first. Sometimes it is hard to choose and too many “things to do” overlap and create much stress.

In life, it’s the same.

We are pushed and pulled in so many directions, and hear so many voices shouting at us to do this or that, we can’t hear ourselves any longer. We know what’s best, what’s right, what we need to do. But we’ve gotten lost in the disarray.

Yet the truth is we can always create a new beginning. Even when we have made mistakes, failed, and things have all gone wrong. Anytime is a good time for a fresh start.

We can begin right now to solve problems that have lingered for a while. We can bring an end to any unfinished business. We can break old habits, reorganize our priorities, and start something new.

Right now.

We can turn a new leaf anytime once we set out our minds and hearts to do so.

New beginnings start by getting rid of the old and tried. We embark on things that we haven’t tried. We become more aggressive with ourselves and stop thinking that someone or something is in our way.

The quicker we put in the work, disciplines, and right attitude, the sooner we will experience the miracles life has to offer.

I write this because I realize that every day, every moment, we have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves. We can start over and become the person we want to be. We can’t do everything, we can't be everything, and we can’t know everything… but we have the choice of what we want to be.

There is so much in life to choose from. To begin a new beginning, we must listen closely to our intuition, which reminds us of what is really most important.

When I was in college and would feel overwhelmed with studies and my many extra curricular activities (I was sports editor of our college paper, chairman of our student organization, and basketball player), my mom would always remind me, “The cream will rise to the top.” She meant that the most important would always make itself evident, and I would get it done if I focused on it.

We need to let the cream rise to the top of our lives. That’s the essence of minimalism.

I would love to hear about your experiences with new beginnings. Share it with all of us in the comments. It is wonderful when we can impart these inspiring and uplifting moments in our lives.

- “A New Beginning,” from Minimalist on Purpose (www.raymundtamayo.com), January 24, 2013

Raymund's Random Insights

Now comes another year, another chance to say thank you to friends for staying close no matter what…

Looking backward helps us to go forward with a sense of purpose.

There will always be another opportunity. For God is a God of second chances.

Poem of the Week

WE'RE PASSING THROUGH
by Raymund Tamayo

We’re passing the signs
the seasons
and the signposts
at such speed
that pausing to reflect
on where and which
direction to go
and what does it mean
grows harder and harder
year by year.

But what I do know
is that your God and mine
daily watches over
expecting us to listen
and to care about each other.

Across the fields and mountains
beyond the highways and byways,
as Jose Mari Chan sings it,
and to each sea and ocean,
I also sing to you,
reach out to you,
hoping that each new day
in the year just starting
and all those days
in the years ahead
will be full of love and reason,
like the years before.

We’re passing through this
fleeting street called Life and
no matter how bumpy
each road gets,
I want no one else to walk
it through than
with you.

(December 2008)

AND FINALLY

2020 had been rough. But now it's 2021. Let us be encouraged by God’s promises. He is the hope we carry in our hearts until the coming of that brightest day when His shout will be heard, the trumpet will sound, the Kingdom will come, and the King will reign. God bless us all!

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NIV

Thanks for stopping by - see you when I see you.

Remaining In Love

At times, when fear and solitude seem to crush all beauty, the best thing to do is to remain in love.

TO BEGIN WITH

Strength. A word many of us mere mortals need these days. I don’t have to explain why. You know you need it, too. I have my one and only God, who promised to never leave me or forsake me. I believe Him, and with Him I find strength. My Almighty Father, who I would be lost without. But I would also be lost without my split-apart. She is my best friend here on earth. The one God gave me to really know who I am. My works connect us when we are apart and when we come together. Especially when we are together. The years have come and gone, trials, troubles, and a little bit of everything, still we are left with what we have built between us.

I’d be lost without my friends, too. In addition to the ones I can reach out and touch, my closest friends are music and books. The house is full of both. Fortunately for me my earth-best friend feels the same as I do about both words and music. An added source of strength we should all remember to call on is our past experiences and the lessons we’ve learned from them. Finally, faith in God rather than our own selves will help us get through the toughest times. I need not elaborate the reality of that.

REMAINING IN LOVE

There are moments when we long to be able to help someone whom we love very much. When we long to be the bright sunny day that would take them away from the day’s troubles.

But we can do nothing.

Circumstances do not allow us to be with them or the person is closed to any kind of assistance or support.

Then all we are left with is love.

At such times – when we can do nothing else – we can remain in love. Without expecting anything. Reward, change, or appreciation.

If we do this, love will begin to ease away all worries.

I know of a young man who is working out of the country and he worries that his wife is seeing another man while he was away. At last, after two years, he goes home and meets her again.

That moment when he looked into her eyes once more, all worries went away. All anxieties, nightmares, and fears. This is not meant to gossip. I wrote this down so we may never forget: perfect love casts out fear.

One thing I learned traveling through life all these years is that love is ever present in the small things and manifests itself in the simplest of actions.

It is necessary therefore to remain in love, to keep it always, regardless of circumstances.

To remain in love is to not hold it back, even when the one you love is not around to experience it.

Picking up the phone and saying the affectionate words we have been postponing. Opening the door to someone who couldn’t. Asking a waiter for a glass of water or the extra chili sauce. Asking forgiveness for our mistakes and admitting what we have done. Humbly requesting a right that is ours. Paying our bus fare. Opening a bank account. Closing a bank account. Putting music on really loud when the person we love is far away. And turning the volume down when he or she is near. Knowing when to say “yes” or “no”. Discovering a sport that can be played by two. Knowing when to admit we love someone with all our heart, mind, and soul. And, of course, telling them. Not following any formula, not even the ones in this paragraph, because love is creative.

And when all else fails, when loneliness and worries still linger because of the beloved’s absence, remember this story.

A flower dreamed day and night for the rain to come. But nothing fell all through the summer months.

The flower, however, continued to dream. During the long, warm nights she imagined a heaven full of his drops, which descends to bestow fond kisses.

By doing this, she was able to appreciate the grass around, show affection to bees flying about, and be friendly to the moon watching above.

She was able to last day after day, when she would continue to care for all the busyness around her all over again.

One night, the moon, who knew of the flower’s loneliness and longing for the rain, asked: “Aren’t you tired of waiting?”

“Possibly, but I have to keep trying.”

“Why?”

“Because if I don’t remain in love, I will simply fade away. And one day, who knows, rain might come.”

At times, when fear and solitude seem to crush all beauty, the best thing to do is to remain in love.

      - from "Coffee and Mornings", 2010 essays

Random Thoughts

Well, thank God, we all got through another week without too many bruises.

Nothing beautiful comes easy.

Aim for the moon. The worst that could happen is you’ll miss and end up tumbling to the stars.

Poem of the Week

THIS NIGHT
by Raymund Tamayo

To write about you is easy ---
   compare it to a sailor's voyage
      over clear waters,
   or a master baker baking butter cookies.

To praise or talk about you ---
   that is the challenge,
      it would do more harm to me than good.

Within my own heart's head,
   I remember full moons in Gordon Heights,
      school corridors and back stage kisses,
   a Sunday walk along Waterdam Road,
      cold nights of warm hugs and fireflies.

Did you know
   that some pages in my journal are blotted and unused?
Those must have been the happiest of times,
   for who can jot down happiness while it is happening?

(July 2000)

AND FINALLY

August continues to chug through. Let's hold on, dear friend. Hold on.

Sleep Warm and join me again next time.

Thanks for stopping by - see you when I see you.