“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”
Meister Eckhart
It’s a new year, so what better opportunity to discuss starting fresh, a concept filled with hope and perhaps relief, especially this year as we leave behind the cursed 2020.
But starting fresh isn’t always a good thing. Maybe the idea of change or venturing into new territory brings you anxiety. Or maybe you’re wise to the reality that there is no such thing as a fresh start.
Regardless of what starting fresh means to you, let’s look at it from a shared viewpoint for the sake of this post. The German theologian, philosopher and mystic, Meister Eckhart, once said, “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning,” promoting the concept that every day offers a fresh start. Let’s focus on that.
Wide-Eyed and Ready to Learn
Being a beginner is often viewed as a bad thing. After all, no one likes being a rookie, right? But why is that? Why is it better to be experienced?
One could say that being a beginner is wrought with failure. Rookies make rookie mistakes. Or maybe it’s more glorious to be the seasoned professional because people give you more respect.
Let’s look at it from a different angle. When you’re a rookie the expectations are low. No one assumes you’ll perform at the same level as the veteran. In other words, no one is surprised when you make a mistake. It’s expected.
Basically, there’s little pressure when you’re a beginner. The only demand is that you learn. You’re a student. You’re the new kid. You’re an apprentice. What a wonderful thing! Embrace it. Wake up each day and be on the lookout for new things. That’s what a fresh start is all about.
But, in order to fully embrace being a beginner we have to leave some things behind. That’s another good part of starting fresh.
Check Your Baggage, Please
As one day ends and another begins, get in the habit of leaving things behind. It’s hard, I know. For whatever reason, we like to carry things with us. We like to burden our minds and our hearts with unnecessary baggage that weighs us down and ultimately prevents us from growing.
Starting fresh means letting bygones be bygones. It means taking with you only that which serves you. No more and no less.
We all know the great feeling of a fresh start. We know what it means to leave the bad stuff behind and wipe the slate clean. It’s freeing. It’s exciting. It’s totally worth it. But most of us don’t do it as often as we should. Here’s a helpful way to think about it.
Think of each day as a trip. Going to sleep at night is just like boarding a plane for a wonderful vacation to paradise. You check all your heavy bags and carry with you only the essentials. Then you fly, or sleep in the case of this analogy. When you wake up you’ve arrived at your destination. The fun begins. What happened yesterday or last week doesn’t matter. You’re on vacation.
If we’re going to take this analogy one step further, we could say that being reunited with those heavy bags after arriving at your vacation destination is just like encountering the negative crud you left behind from the previous day. It’s an important thing to note: nothing truly disappears.
We can leave negativity behind, but it will resurface. It might not even be recognizable as the same thing you ditched, but it doesn’t matter. The practice of leaving behind thoughts and feelings that do not serve us is still a worthwhile endeavor. It isn’t a magic wand, but it’s a necessary process in order to start fresh every day.
Living Free and Happy
If we’re willing to be a beginner every morning then we’re able to approach each day with the best possible chance of living free and happy. We’re letting go of the negativity that holds us back and we’re looking ahead with youthful optimism, eager to learn and grow.
We don’t have all the answers. We don’t have unreasonable expectations. We simply have a clear path forward. Our minds are primed for new ideas and creative solutions. Our hearts are open and free to love. That’s what starting fresh is all about. It’s a daily practice worth embracing.