"In the beginning". Those are the first words of the first chapter of the first book of the Old Testament, and yet God and Time and Space are from all eternity to all eternity. In a universe of infinities how how can something as finite as a beginning even exist? The word "begin" comes from an Old German root ("ginnan") meaning to "open up". So a beginning is an opening up of something that was previously in stasis or didn't yet exist. A beginning is a miraculous moment when things start to change, when sleeping things awaken, when something new is created.
Every endeavor, every invention, every reformation, every revolution, every work of art, every musical composition, every career, every planet, every gleam of faith, every bit of knowledge, and even every human being exists because of a mysterious moment we have come to call a "beginning". For a long time something ISN'T, and then some sort of surprising shift takes place and that something begins to BE and, no matter what happens to it thereafter the universe has changed--something new has come into it. Beginnings are the keys to creation and progress.
God used a beginning to create this universe. Michelangelo was able to create the ceiling of the breathtaking Sistine Chapel because he started it. The founding fathers established the foundations of freedom for the colonists by declaring independence. A man landed on the moon because someone imagined the possibility and began working on it. Every infant that comes into the world brings about a beginning which involves a unique combination of characteristics that affect others and, to a greater or lesser extent, end up changing the world.
Many of us find ourselves in unproductive patterns of living that leave us feeling unsatisfied or unhappy. We can change those patterns; we can lose the weight, we can break the bad habit, we can improve any aspect of our lives, but none of those things will happen unless we begin. You may begin something that you don't finish but you can never finish what you don't begin. New beginnings can happen anytime, not just at the New Year, but for some reason we human beings tend to get more focused on life changes at significant moments in time. A new year, a move, a wedding, a new job etc. all give us an opportunity to reflect on our deficiencies or unmet goals, and to resolve to make changes.
As I discussed in a blog post last February, our amazing minds will accomplish anything we either desire or dread (both of them are powerful beginnings). Perhaps the more difficult question is what is the source of our motivation? Where does that inclination come from tips our hearts and minds toward those desires? That is the true beginning of everything that gets accomplished--it's the "spark of creation". Can we generate or control those inclinations? Interestingly yes--we have an inner self that's deeper than our brains by which we can "think" about our thinking. That inner essence of ourselves is the core of our characteristics and inclinations. In our theology this deepest inner self has always existed. It came into our spirit beings when we were born to our Heavenly Parents, and then followed us into our physical bodies when we were born to our earthly parents. As an aside, having the core of ourselves that has always existed and was not created explains how we can simultaneously accept that God created us as a Father (i.e. created us in the same sense that earthly parents "create" their children) and that we can make our own choices and choose our own destinies.
I have found that the key turning points in my own life have originated with emotional rather than intellectual sparks. For example, in 2012 when I began my successful journey to get back to a "normal" weight range for my height (around 175 lbs.) it came after reaching 199 lbs. and not being willing to cross the psychologically important 200 lb. mark. I could have and should have changed my eating habits at any time prior to that moment. Logically it would have made sense, but logic is not a very strong motivator. The great motivator is the human will--a "fire in the belly", a "cry from the soul". Sometimes you feel this deep desire and squander the opportunity because you lack the discipline to follow-through. After a while that can make you mistrust yourself enough that you stop listening to your inner cries. When you feel those yearnings make a start! Fight for what you need, want, and hope for. Don't succumb to the status quo. Even if you don't succeed you'll go down fighting and build a track record in your own self-view as one who acts rather than one who is acted upon.
Yes it's a new year, and if that works for you as a motivator then by all means take advantage of it. However, NOW is the time to begin. Make the goal, start the project, change the world for the better. The power is in us to be so much more and so much better than we are. Let us not allow the comfortable (though usually painful and troubled) path we are on confine us. There is a divine eternal spark within us that can start us on a new path. Turn! Begin! Open up a new path! Then someday soon you, like God, will be able to start the story of your extraordinary journey with the words "in the beginning".
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