NEW BEGINNINGS

Life is full of many new beginnings, so many. September has always seemed more to me like the start of a ‘new year’, as opposed to the conventional January. Growing up, September marked the end of the lazy, hazy days of the long holidays. And in my home, once the last day of August arrives, my sisters and I would be expected to turn in individual back-to-school lists to our parents.

September brings a sense of novelty. The freshness in the air. The mixed feelings towards the start of a new school year. Having wrung out all the holiday fun, the idea of a chance to start with a clean slate always sounds good. Often we feel sad for the end of summer classes but at the same time, we look forward to new routines and a change. Sound familiar? For me it goes back to secondary school days. I still remember resumption days after the long summer holidays. The smell of fresh grass which meant a few weeks of strenuous “labour”, the sticky spirogyra on the walls and floor, yet to be scuffed by footwears and brooms, the trauma of meeting a new class teacher and the greater dread of a pristine exercise book with beautiful blank pure white pages which was soon to be covered in ink blots with words sometimes too big to comprehend. Each new class brings new challenges and it’d take a few weeks to settle in and get a good pattern going. More than these, September has marked the turn of life-changing events in my life. It holds sweet-sour memories for me, but I tag it my month of peace because it's also the month when I first experienced the "peace that passeth all understanding" and got understanding that only that kind of peace can bring.

September calls on me to refocus and restrategise. The days quickly get shorter and make way for longer, cooler evenings. The weather changes and I am aware that it is natural to feel the effects of these changes in the body especially in September. Perhaps, a little cold or allergies will spring up (they have now). Perhaps, I will have to eat more than I normally do (yes…lol). Perhaps, I will feel the need to do a complete life overhaul – well, that's a lifetime work in progress rather than a quick-fix. All of these serve as a reminder that it is a perfect time to re-evaluate my lifestyle, to hone some of the organizational systems I have in place to streamline my time management and refresh my tool box for success.

So here I am at September again! Time to transition into a new beginning with better perspectives. And this is what new beginnings remind me of - to not be restricted by what worked or didn’t work in the past; to be open-minded and think outside the box; to try new things and rethink old patterns; to revisit relationships or leads that didn’t have a good fit in the past; to reach out, up, over or down and team up with like-minded individuals for support and inspiration. And lately, it’s taught me to not let fear stop me from taking my chances.

September’s given me something new as always. This time, a line I thought I should share. “Take a chance on something seemingly awkward and you’d literally astound yourself, for you never know with whom you shall share a ride on this journey of life!” May new beginnings in your life cause you to bloom.