Starting all over again, from scratch

As a 20-something year old, you may assume (and rightly so), that my mind is a cart full of chaos and confusion. You would even think that I am trying to figure out what I want my life to look like—now and in the years to come—because I probably don’t have a clue right now.

Let me, hence, make it clear to you, it is all true. So very true. And mind you, it just all gets very intense around new year. What is with all the pressure of ‘new beginnings’?

These new beginnings give rise to the infamous ‘New Year resolutions’ which, in fact, turn out to be almost nothing but a to-do list for the first week of January.

The new year opens up for a fresh start as we are believed to chase, as the past year will now be just a matter of memory. That said, the reality can never be halfway ignored. You take all of that with a pinch of salt.

We, humans, are quite funny and amusingly hopeful that way, did that strike you too? We love starting afresh, we love making promises to ourselves, and we love second followed by third chances. Who am I kidding, so do I! But nothing bad about it, I would say.

It is amazing to let our mind believe that bygones are indeed bygones.

It’s a comforting thought to put the year behind us, and think of all the adventures to arrive. At least that’s how I see it. I personally love newness, I especially go out of my way to start something anew every now and then. It keeps the excitement and spark alive. It is amazing to let our mind believe that bygones are indeed bygones, and there is no looking back now.

Hope is a beautiful thing, and fresh starts bring in a lot of hope along with them. So, for me, ‘new beginnings’ are the way to go.

However, it amuses me how most people relate new beginnings only to a New Year.

If you come to think of it rationally, it is just another day. The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west, even on the last day of the year. Agreed the earth completes its orbit around the sun in 365 days but no matter what we think, a new year is only special for a new calendar it brings with it.

My close friends and family, most of them at least, celebrate and bring in the new year with much gusto and pizzaz, they raise glasses to the coming year and everything it will bring with it and bid adieu to everything good and bad that happened the previous year. It is an end of another chapter of life and with that, the end of guilt, bad memories and unclosed episodes. But is it really?

Does one night really have the power to make drastic changes like that? At the stroke of midnight, you share that hyped kiss with your partner, but that moment quickly fades away returning you both to your usual routines.

I don’t mean to be a killjoy, all I’m saying is that a new start does not need to have a dedicated time and slot. Of course, I don’t have anything against the celebration that comes with it, any excuse to celebrate really! But we fool our minds to believe that ‘Come 1st of January, I will start afresh’. We get ourselves trapped in a bubble.

I really mean, if I want a fresh start, I could do it at any given point of time. And I have the liberty to choose any day. Everyone has. Any day can be very special, even if we cherry-pick, only if we get out of the bubble.

The best beginnings of my life have always started and worked out in the middle of nowhere. Be it a relationship, a career choice or travel plans. Had I waited for the 1st of January for these things to happen, you and I both know, it would not have happened. It is, in my opinion, brilliant to begin again. After all fall 3 times, get up 4, right?

Everything is special, everything is special for a moment, and every moment lasts for a while. And then, it might just fade away. All in a moment. Something new awaits.

That new can be very interesting, that new can be interestingly very boring. But change is change. Nothing is constant. You accept, you deny to accept. You don’t pick a day, but you try.

Starting all over can be quite daunting, but it only needs a slight shift in perspective.

The fact that when you start from scratch, there is an endless number of possibilities and results. It can go South (probably like your last attempt), but there is equally a chance of wonders happening. This thought in itself can give people hope and bring contentment.

It is such a joy to bump into new learnings and new experiences. They are unexpected, exciting, the best teachers, and definitely, don’t wait for the clock to strike 12 on the 31st of December to show up. And that is the most charming part about them, is it not?

Starting all over can be quite daunting, but it only needs a slight shift in perspective. Sure, it can get intimidating at times. However, it may be looked at as a gate to new opportunities and lessons waiting to be explored. Jumping and grabbing these chances can be life-altering. May it be a new job, a new hobby, or even a new travel experience; they are all new beginnings for me—literally or internally.

And heck, do we need these mainsprings to kill our deadly routines, or we would be killed by them eventually.

Ergo, should you want a new beginning, take it at your will and time. New starts are exciting, and they will surely rejuvenate you. Breathe, and go for it, you!

Christopher Burns