I begin at the place where I wish to be nurtured,

I begin at the place where I’ll cultivate love,

I begin at the parts that seem to be broken,

I begin with the God within, not above.

I begin where my pain came rifling through me,

I begin where the sorrow weighed on me so,

I begin where the noise was too loud to hear this,

I begin where the meaning was written below.

I begin where I hold space, and created a void,

I begin where it’s necessary, to fill in the hole

I begin where the heart strings were severed and cut off,

I begin where I can begin; deep within my soul.

I begin where I find, the little girl in the corner,

I begin by embracing her, and thank her for being “strong”,

I begin by showing her a new possibility,

I begin by discovering it was me all along.

I begin by uncovering the world all around me,

I begin by letting go of what doesn’t serve,

I begin by setting boundaries and giving forgiveness,

I begin by demanding love I truly deserve.

I begin by being seen and standing up as worthy,

I begin by digging out the authentic me,

I begin by dismissing shame, embarrassment and fear,

I begin by making new roots for this damaged tree.

I begin by brushing off the dust all around here,

I begin by noticing the cracks are rather small,

I begin by mending then looking at the product,

I begin by the wholeness I’ve become from it all.

I begin from a place of lack and scare mentality,

I begin from this space that I didn’t belong,

I begin from a new perspective of understanding,

I begin by harmonizing with a new kind of song. 

I begin in the smiles, the happiness and glory,

I begin where grace and mercy are enough,

I begin where my heart feels like it’s finally soaring,

I begin as I always did, from a place intended for love.

This week I am beginning a 7week journey with soul sister Liz lamoreux Of http://www.lizlamoreux.com . We are doing some self exploration with her book titled:”Inner Excavation”. One of this weeks task was to write a poem with a prompt of “I begin…” Here is my gift of expression about where and how I begin. This took me all of 10 minutes where other tasks will be much more challenging. I hope you’ll challenge yourself to take some time to focus on the beginnings in your life, which can essentially be found in each moment. Where have you begun before? Where will you begin today? Where do you wish to begin in the future? And what’s stopping you from allowing that to be the place you begin in the present moment? Challenging isn’t it? 

I’ve been battling with the career change I’ve had to face since the moment I knew dental hygiene was over. I’ve been stuck in the ending. I knew that I could no longer practice hygiene, but I didn’t know where to go from there. And I didn’t know where to begin. So I spent the past two years jumping into other people’s hopes and dreams because I lack trust in myself to begin anything alone. I lack the acceptance that just because I don’t know, doesn’t mean I’ll never know. I lack appreciation for where I’ve been and what I’ve learned. I’m afraid. 

After writing this poem I realize that I have much to trust in, because I can be my own motivator and I can trust that I will always do what needs to be done to get the job done. I also realize I need to accept not only that a part of my life is behind me, but also that it has given me much experience. And I realize that I need to appreciate all the things I do know and things I do have and what I can take from that space into the future of whatever I do. 

I’m feeling relief that I have so much to give and have experienced enough that I can take all this knowledge into the future. I’m looking forward to what will unfold. I’m no longer living in the end of what was, but the beginning of what could be. 

Up until now, I felt restricted, uneasy, unable to have clarity about what will happen next. An end came and while it was partially expected and what I ultimately needed, it wasn’t the way I wanted it to end. I got stuck there, and felt trapped. 

From now on, I’m going to focus on what’s next, not in fear, but with excitement. I’m going to enjoy the beginning, being grateful for the past, accepting that something new is on the horizon, and trusting that I will know what I need to do or finding someone else  who does for every step of the way.  Let’s begin!