New Beginnings

Hey Brother!

I've been thinking a lot about new beginnings lately.

Like how I begin a new blog project every 6 months or so. But enough about that.

I always imagined that life would settle in to something regular and predictable at a certain point. Like I would finish school and get a real job and then everything would just kind of be normal from then on out. But that's not really the way it works.

The last 5 years have been just one new beginning after another. Begin a new marriage, begin a new school program, begin being a parent, begin a new job, begin living in a new city, begin living in another new city, begin being a parent of two. It would be one thing if that was the end of it, but as our family looks 5 years down the line, we see nothing but more new beginnings. I can't help but wonder if things will ever just settle in to something normal.

But that just raises another question... Do I really want things to settle in to something normal? I mean, make no mistake, I'm absolutely the kind of person who would settle in to something comfortable when given the chance. I basically have to be dragged out of my comfort zone, but maybe that's good for me some times. For example, I'm the kind of person who could go to a restaurant ten times and only ever order one thing. Some of my favourite places to eat lunch are places where I've only tried a single thing on the menu. I know I like it, so why risk trying something I may hate? The problem is, I'm missing out on a lot of good stuff, and half the fun of life isn't just enjoying something, it's discovering things you enjoy.

This also applies to things that are a much bigger deal than restaurants. Like where I live. I loved growing up in Kelowna, and would gladly stay there my whole life. It's comfortable, it's familiar, I know how to get around, I know what to do when I'm bored, and where I like to eat. But moving to Langley has given me new experiences. Living half an hour from the ocean has opened my eyes to a whole different kind of thing I enjoy. It's one thing to learn about ocean life and tides, it's an entirely different thing to go out there and watch the tides move in person. The sense of awe you get when you realize that the moon is literally pushing the ocean water around, leaving all sorts of clams and crabs and other life in its trails is a thing you would never experience in the Okanagan. Theoretically, I totally get gravity, but watching it happen is something my brain totally can't handle.

New beginnings are also good for me. I used to be terrified to make changes. New jobs, new cities, new school programs, new kinds of relationships, they all used to terrify me. Now that I've experienced all those things... they still terrify me. But in a different way. They're scary, but not paralyzing. New beginnings just lead to more new beginnings, and more confidence in my ability to handle them. I need new beginnings, even if I have to be dragged out of my comfort zone to experience them.

So, as someone who just moved most of the way across a continent, I'm sure you can relate to some of this. I'd love to hear about some of your new beginnings.