Good morning, friends!
Can you remember the last time you tried something that you had no prior experience in? Can you remember the last time you worked on something knowing that failure would be a part of the process?
Parenting young children, I see their efforts toward new things everyday. Lately, my son is feeding himself with a spoon and climbing the stairs "like a grown person" on two legs instead of just crawling. And, my daughter is playing new games on her IPAD with characters she creates and sounding out longer words in longer books. Each of them approach these tasks not as experts who "know it all" but as our word of the week: beginners.
Beginner a word that means a person who starts a task for the first time.
And as beginners, my children like all children, are curious. They are steady. They repeat tasks until they achieve the results they want even if it takes longer than they think. They seek help if they "get stuck." They celebrate every victory of the moment their beginner status pays off.
But you know what? I think the older you and I get, we stop being beginners.
You have lists of what you do and what you don't do. You don't dare move toward things that you haven't done. You don't utter to a friend, "I don't know how to do that" because you're afraid of what might be thought of about you.
I'll tell you this: one thing I'm learning a lot about right now is saying: "I am a beginner."
I'm thinking a lot about the humility of saying to a potential teacher: "I don't know how to do that. Can you show me?"
This declaration is huge! Life changing. And so soul-filling because it invites in exactly what I need.
Beginner status is for all of us in lots of ways no matter our age! Being a beginner is a posture of spiritual growth-- even if it feels painful at first in its oddity.
So, here's my suggestion for the week: how do you need to become a beginner? What do you need to begin?
And by this, I don't necessarily mean a new job or a hobby (though if that is what comes to mind, go with it), but rather what is something you would like to start in your daily practices?
Maybe you want to learn how to have brave conversations (and here's a great resource if you do)? Maybe you want to learn how to trust again after a bad breakup? Maybe you want to begin being quiet when people talk to you instead of just charging on forward?
Whatever it may be, I believe beauty awaits you if you assume your new job description as "beginner!" Who cares your age! Who cares if you have no experience! It's exactly the place where grace finds roots because your heart is simply open. If you are living and breathing, there's always time to begin.
XO
Elizabeth
