New Yet Not So Much

Not everything we walk into that is called or classified as new is really new. The feelings, perceptions, and experiences may be new, or may feel new, but the thing we walk into is not necessarily new. We enter a New Year every year, and at the same time, the earth remains pretty much the same, as well as the planets, stars, wind, seasons, etc. The newness often is more in the different way we see life, ourselves, and our situations in life. The newness can also be what we dream for and desire, the changes we wish in our lives, and the wants we wish to see in not only our lives but in the lives of those we love and encounter.

As we pass the first 10 days into a New Year, many of us have probably began to see the sameness on the horizon, or even worse, have begun to let go of the changes we hoped to see in our lives for this year. I have to wonder if most of the changes we desire in a new year are more externally focused than internally focused. Taking time to find meaning in self, in knowing and realizing who we are as a person, as a child of God, is so much more work than getting healthy, changing a habit, losing weight, or having better relationships. And yet, both are so connected that I must wonder if we can really achieve the external without a good exploration and discovery of the internal.

Thomas Merton, the great theologian of the last century, wrote, “Life consists in learning to live on one's own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one's own - be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.” Be at home with oneself is such a powerful statement. The world of recovery would call that, “being comfortable in your own skin”. And yet, I suppose that many of us are indeed uncomfortable in our own skin, not at home with ourselves, leaning on external to define the internal.

I encourage you, my friend and reader, to take the time to discover the internal flaws that need God’s attention, and resulting healing and change, that you can begin the steps towards true self discovery. Embrace the Godly qualities of your being and seek Gods guidance in their growth. Begin to teach the self that rests within the shell of your body to understand itself, to know that self in a new and wonderful manner. Begin to let loose the labels that you lean on for self definition and become the God version of who you are, and of who you are suppose to be. Don’t grow tired and weary. Continue to grow inward and upward.


(The writings in this post are random thoughts and observations and are NEVER intended as professional or personal advice. Take what works and leave the rest. For information on mental health and/or substance abuse help, visit http://www.rodneyvalandra.com and refer to the links page.)