“Set fire to the broken pieces; start anew.” ~ Lauren
DeStefano, Sever
I was reading something this morning about a father and his two sons helping rescue 17 people in Oklahoma (wish I had their names). When they remarked this wasn't their first rodeo, they were asked if they had any advice. One of the men said, "You begin where you are." I can't say why that one line struck a chord. Maybe because no matter what we deal with in our lives or how many questions we have, the one question is always how or where do I begin? "You begin where you are."
Make no mistake; tragedy will always visit us at some
time in our lives, as will an abundance of other life measures. Our better
emotional factions seldom leave marks like those of pain, grief, or sorrow. Yet
at some point we find ourselves needing, wanting to start over – to begin anew.
It is at this place we often stand lost and confused forever looking back to
see if perhaps we somehow missed the shortcut. Why do these placeholders
imprison us so? Is fear the culprit?
Which leaves me to wonder how many starts and stops do we
accrue in a lifetime? Is there some kind of mystical mathematician that allots
who needs more chances or hasn’t gotten enough? I’m sorry to say, this is one
equation where numbers don’t apply. Life simply happens. We can question the
why until we’re blue in the face and still be no wiser when death knocks on our
doors. I truly believe the answer to where do we go from here exist within us
all; despite mistakes or wrong choices, we can still find it within ourselves to
begin again, try again, until the pieces of the puzzle - our lives fit.
Life beats us up enough, without us providing the tools
to finish the job. There will always be days of heavy overwhelming apathy,
stunted hope, and moments of why bother. Welcome to your humanity.
I’m well versed in how to be a prisoner of my psyche
unable to move forward from a place. All of us are. When I took a much needed
break to grieve, to compose myself, each day brought the question of where do I
go from here and each day left me lacking. As is the nature of the beast life
goes on with or without you. Until one day you find yourself asking, what lies
beyond today? After so many starts and stops, I found myself hesitating –
unsure where to begin.
A quote Amy Reed wrote in Beautiful summed up what I did know about those who read me, “There
is a picture of me in their heads, a picture of someone I don't know yet.” How
do I get to know her, this woman who is about to begin again? The answer
startled me in its simplicity, “You begin
where you are, one word at a time.” ~ Indigo
Picture From Here
Picture From Here


