New Chapters

The cynic in me can’t stand a good adage. The early bird gets the worm. Actions speak louder than words. You reap what you sow. When one door closes, another one opens. But they’re annoying because they’re all simple and they’re all true! Especially that last one.

When one door closes, another one opens. Yeesh, enough already with the timeless wisdom.

I can’t tell you the number of times in my life all hell has broken loose and it has felt like a complete disaster, only to have a really wonderful chapter right afterward. In her book You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay writes about getting rid of old stuff. She says the Universe loves a good symbolic gesture, like getting rid of old clothes or unused things when we’re ready to make a change. And sometimes, we ain’t ready. Sometimes, life intervenes. Sometimes, the trash takes itself out.

As some of you dear readers may know, I’m dealing with a little bit of heartbreak right now, while trying to build some faith. It’s actually been easier than I thought, and I think this exercise is the reason for that. I’m not so faithful that I believe “God has a plan for me” - at least not yet. But I am sort of forcing myself to believe that if I focus on Good, that is what I will build. Part of that commitment has to be accepting that not everyone has the kind of faith in my future or theirs that they want to build something Good with me. So, this weekend my neighbor had a pile of free stuff on their lawn, so I decided to make one, too. It was actually a lot of fun, wandering around in the house, collecting old things and nicknacks and third-hand furniture, and just setting it all outside to go live another life. Be free! I also closed a door on something causing me a great deal of pain. And the next morning, I felt an enormous sense of relief. I thought I would be sad about it, but on the contrary, the next day felt like the start of a whole new life.

I think about flying on an airplane. There’s only so much baggage you’re allowed to bring on board. We can’t haul the entire contents of our closet onto the plane with us, otherwise there wouldn’t be any lift off. Some of our stuff has to stay behind. Some of our old stuff that doesn’t work for us any more has to be put out on the lawn on the free pile, for someone else to take home and cherish instead. Be free!