Debra Smouse's Blog - Posts Tagged "germany-kent"

I've been thinking a lot about new beginnings and how that demands that we also parlay that into a fresh start.

Earlier this month, our landscaping company did what they call our "Spring Clean Up". This is when they do any major pruning...but mostly install a fresh layer of mulch to ensure our flower beds retain as much moisture - and repel weeds - to it's best ability. Our next door neighbor uses the same company and so the crew is here for a couple of days to tend the long list of wishes we each have for the exterior of our homes.

Unfortunately for the crew, they left on the 2nd day knowing there was still an hour ( or so ) of work left to complete. To ensure they didn't have to come back, I did a full walk of our property to inspect all the flower beds and make notes of any undone tasks. And I did this while I was having a conversation with a dear friend on Voxer.

As I walked from our garage, down the steps to the back yard, examined our pond, and then made my way back up to the front, I snapped photo after photo of to my friend of freshly pruned and tended flowerbeds. Everything awash in lush green and manicured edges.

And it struck me just how fresh and green everything was. And how it gave me hope for new beginnings.



Earlier, as spring made herself known, we were treated to flowering trees, orange and purple tulips, and sunshine yellow daffodils. But now, we are at the in-between stage where most of the early bulb have faded, trees have transformed from floral to tiny leaves, and no summer blooms have begun to blossom.

Despite how much happier a color GREEN is than BROWN, it can be a bit of a letdown without the riot of color or the excitement of spring finally arriving in showy blooms. Yet, this is the space of time when the world is simply RIPE and inviting us to see the fresh season as an opportunity to be rather fresh ourselves.

It's no wonder that after I talked of decluttering and shedding what no longer serves us last month - that my mind would shift to what that means for us on not just a physical level - but a mental and spiritual level as well.

There is immense power in fresh starts and new beginnings.



Yet, that very thing is just what gives many of us pause. Because what keeps bobbing to the surface is all the baggage that arises when we think about pursing new goals - especially when those goals are ones we've attempted before: lose weight, get in shape, write that book, improve our relationships, or reduce our social media usage.

No matter how much a part of us desires to give begin again towards something we've wanted in the past comes with the negative voices of "Why Bother?" or "Why do you think this time will be different?" or "Haven't you tried this before?"

This, my darling, is where fresh starts rely upon granting ourselves grace, forgiving past versions of ourselves, and granting ourselves permission to begin. Even if it is again. Or maybe especially IF it's to doing it again.

What I mean by this is when we desire to achieve something that we've successfully achieved in the past, but more recent attempts have been failures.

Take my writing, for example. I've published three books and edited a literary anthology. But despite being 70% done with my next book, I've been in a holding pattern. All that fresh, green newness reminds me that life renews and what seemed dormant or dead can come back to life.

But the voices of my inner critic - especially after this period of languishing for so many of us - has left me in frozen state of procrastination coupled with a lack of confidence in myself as a writer that can actually finish things.

And, of course, I have been in much better shape than I am at this exact moment in time.

In fact, twenty years ago, I was so dedicated to staying in shape that I got up at 4 AM and was at the gym before 5 AM most days. And last year around this time, I was at the park for my walk every single day. Something I haven't done consistently since the weather turned colder last fall.

Because beyond having succeeded in the past, we have to accept the simple fact that at this time, we need to begin again. Which can either be a solid blow to the ego - or an opportunity to practice the concepts of self-love, forgiveness, and the willingness to see ourselves as imperfect yet perfectly capable beings.

While being a beginner - again - can feel challenging or even, at times, demoralizing, it's simply a part of the cycle of life. And if we can do so from the right headspace, it can be a beautiful process of loving ourselves and our lives more deeply.




The key to this, my darling, to take a fresh start and flourish in some way, lies in permission to be a beginner. No matter what a past version of ourselves did before.
So, rather than allowing myself to simply give up before I begin, all the freshness of May is inviting me to grant myself the grace of being a beginner. Once again.

To get back in shape, Becoming mindful about what I'm eating and heading out to the park - or on my bike - as an invitation to celebrate movement rather than as a punishment.

And to open that file on Scrivener that contains not just the next book, but the next FOUR books I want to publish. To begin writing daily again - or not - maybe to simply tend my art and nourish my own soul as I spill my words and thoughts onto the page.

And to invite you, my dear, to come along the journey with me and with this current version of yourself. Allow yourself the opportunity to start fresh and the grace to begin again. Because within that is an opportunity to unearth the shiniest, sexiest, and most fabulous version of who you always wanted to be.




Not because you achieve something specific. Rather because you have the gumption to start fresh on the journey.

Here's to fresh green spaces, the promise of blooming flowers, and the grace of new beginnings as you make space for the next version of who you desire to be.

If you'd like to read the May 2021 love note in full, you can do so here.

And, if you'd like to receive my Monthly Love Note, sign up here. You'll also receive my free E-Book - A Touchstone For Your 2021 Journey: The In-Depth Guide to Revealing Your Word of the Year .

Sending you oodles of love, wishes for warmth and coziness, and the reminder to do something nice for yourself today.