Monday Musings Part Twenty: It’s Never too Late

It’s Never too Late

Recently, I came across a quote by George Elliot that resonated with me.

‘It is never too late to be who you might have been.’

For me, this single sentence contains a book full of meaning.

And, you know, we don’t have to wait until something is broken to make changes. Why not start over to create something better? In fact, each time we sleep then wake, we start over. Each morning, we get born again, and what we do today, right now, matters far more than what we did yesterday.

To take this even further: each new inhalation offers us a fresh start. We can press the reset button at any time. The only thing that limits us is us. In the words of the Buddha (from the Dhammapada):

‘You are what you think.

All that you are arises from your thoughts.

With your thoughts, you make your world.’

Meditators soon discover that what they’re doing is splitting the self over and over until nothing remains. And from that nothing, they constantly create their world. While stuck in our ego, in our box, and our set ways of being, we cannot create anything new. Our cup is overfull. The pot we’ve shaped and the walls we’ve built hem us in.

The emptying process can feel daunting at times. It’s fine to feel scared now and then. However, we have to get out there and live. We have to open up and love and make our mistakes. That’s how we learn and grow stronger. That’s how we start over and become who we want to be.

Our life doesn’t run on tracks. We can make a U-turn anytime we want, or veer left or right, up or down. It is only our selves that keep us locked on target, even when everything around us is yelling that we’re headed in the wrong direction. We get stuck.

In contrast, the emptier we become, the more like water we become. Water always finds a way. If it can’t go through, it will go around. It is in the nature of water to flow.

Nowhere is it written that we have to know it all. None of us, not a one, has all the answers. The fool who knows he is a fool is that much wiser. You start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Step out on your journey.

Each moment is new. Each breath is a new beginning. Our lives offer us constant opportunities to relearn everything, if only we have the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the heart to forge ahead. And, just because something has a long history, it doesn’t have to be a life sentence.

If you want to make a change, then what are you waiting for? Only you can keep making excuses. Only you can give you permission. Only you can make your situation and timing optimal.

In the wise words of Zen:

‘No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.’

If you’ve missed my previous Monday Musings, you can find the links here: https://harmonykent.co.uk/category/monday-musings/ 🙂