One of my all-time favorite Larnelle Harris songs is, “I Can Begin Again.” (The video and lyrics to this song are posted below.) I recently discovered a new blog that has been very inspirational and I wanted to post an entry I read there today on my blog, as well as share it with a few family members and friends. This entry immediately reminded me of Larnelle’s song and, hopefully, both will inspire you as much as they inspire me.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Sink or swim. If you’re out in the middle of the ocean, those are your only two choices, right? Head for shore, or wait and drown.
Life isn’t much different.
If we see something in our horizon, and we want that something, then it’s not enough to simply wait. Providence is not often so kind. It’s up to us to pump our arms and swim for it. The chances of that special something bobbing beneath our nose before we’re snorting bubbles is, perhaps, only slightly better than the odds of winning the lottery.
I loved my last job. I loved the people I worked with, and enjoyed the surroundings of each of my days. I was good at what I did, and I liked the way that success made me feel.
So why did I leave?
Because I was treading water. Once I asked myself the hard questions, I couldn’t lie about the answers. When I realized I was doing the dog paddle, I knew it was time to get out of Dodge.
My new job is no different. I love the children I teach, and the families they go home to. But there’s a low ceiling above me, and four walls that I can only leave if I’m scurrying from point A to B and back again.
Life is too short for so much restriction.
It’s a new dawn we’re living. Anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence and good time management can carve a life for themselves that doesn’t have to conform to the standards set by the last several hundred years of the ruling elite. And I’m not talking about those lucky souls endowed with some incredible skill.
I mean anyone who knows how to breathe.
Too many people are perfectly content to simply survive rather than live. Go to work, collect your check, buy the things you need (along with a mountain you don’t), refinance, buy some more, sweat when the economy buckles…
It’s not enough.
If your life isn’t working, then change your behavior. Go on a diet, it doesn’t have to be food. Do without, go hungry. Decide what you want out of life, and then figure out how to get it. I know what I want, and I’ve given myself a year. Every one of you can call me on it if I’m not living as I say by the time my shirt’s sticking to my back next Summer. Scratch that, I doubt I’ll be wearing a shirt much of next Summer.
Just think about it, whatever your situation. If you’re out in the middle of the ocean, and you haven’t started to swim… start.
I promise it’s not too late.
I Can Begin Again – Larnelle Harris
Alone again in a crowded room
Cornered by the questions in my mind
It’s so hard to understand
How the life that I had planned
Stole my joy and left me far behind
Though all I have is lost it seems
In the shadow of a dream that used to be
I can look beyond the skies
Deep into the Father’s eyes
And see that there is hope for one like me
I can begin again
With the passion of a child
My heart has caught a vision
Of a life that’s still worthwhile
I can reach out again
Far beyond what I have done
Like a dreamer who’s awakened
To a life that’s yet to come
For new beginnings are not just for the young
I face the dawn of each brand new day
Free from all the doubt that gripped my past
For I’ve found in trusting Him
That everyday life starts again
As I look toward the things of life that last
I can begin again
With the passion of a child
My heart has caught a vision
Of a life that’s still worthwhile
I can reach out again
Far beyond what I have done
Like a dreamer who’s awakened
To a life that’s yet to come
For new beginnings are not just for the young
I can begin again
With the passion of a child
My heart has caught a vision
Of a life that’s still worthwhile
I can reach out again
Far beyond what I have done
Like a dreamer who’s awakened
To a life that’s yet to come
For new beginnings are not just for the young
New beginnings are not just for the young
New beginnings are not just for the young
