Embracing New Beginnings

Photo Credit: Samuel Ferrara on Unsplash

I recently had the pleasure of watching the series From Scratch on Netflix. The title alone made me think of new beginnings. And of course, once I began watching the episodes it reinforced that thought process. I thoroughly enjoyed the series but had no idea where it would take me. Ironically enough, that’s how it is with new beginnings. It’s both an exciting and terrifying experience. While a part of you is happy a part of you is also sad. New beginnings change the trajectory of our lives. They are full circle moments Sometimes we must endure some pretty painful or uncomfortable moments before we embark upon our new beginning. It’s funny how at times we are given new beginnings and or second chances, if you will, and other times we have come to the end of the road.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Lino and Amy’s love story unfold in Sicily. And I was ecstatic to see that Lino was finally seeing his dreams come into fruition when he opened his restaurant. As soon as things were looking up, tragedy struck, and he was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. Yet he was given a new beginning with the clinical trial and was able to live cancer free for some time. Not only was he able to live cancer free, he and Amy begin the new journey of parenting Italia via adoption. While Italia’s birth parents were ending a chapter in their lives, Amy and Lino were beginning theirs. In life, it’s funny how the same thing can be burdensome for some and a blessing for others.

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Italia gave Lino a purpose and their bond was such a pleasure to watch. It even made Amy jealous of her husband because she didn’t share that bond since she was out of the home working. I loved how Lino and Amy spoke about how they were unhappy and began making the necessary changes to lead happier lives. Lino began teaching cooking classes and Amy became more hands on with Italia. As soon as they got into a groove, Lino’s cancer came back and wreaked havoc on the life they once knew. Lino’s cancer metastasized to both his liver and his lungs rapidly, and at this stage it was incurable.

Lino, Italia, Amy and Amy’s family had to adjust to yet another new normal. Lino had to accept that his life was coming to an end, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it. Italia had to miss seeing her father at home, on her field trips, reading her bedtime stories, etc. Amy had to be there for her dying husband and her baby girl as her father transitioned from this earth. The family pitched in as much as they could with Italia and sitting with Lino during his chemotherapy treatments. Lino was approached about palliative care but he chose to spend the end of his life surrounded by family and friends in the comfort of their home.  

Lino dying was yet another new beginning, one that they had no idea how to navigate but would learn as they went. It was beautiful and extremely thoughtful that Lino told Amy that he wanted her to find love after him because it was too beautiful not to share. Amy had to keep her promise to Lino and take his ashes to Sicily. Amy had to fight through depression where she didn’t want to eat or get out of the bed and she was pushing those closest to her away. Italia began taking on the motherly role trying to ensure that her mother ate. Life is funny, at various stages of our lives we will temporarily abandon our current roles to take on other roles. We do not always like evolution, but we are generally able to adapt fairly quickly. Life as they new it was no more, yet their story was still unfolding.

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Life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns that can be extremely difficult to navigate. No matter what happens, we must be fully committed to moving forward despite our circumstances or we will become stagnant. We simply do the very best we can with the knowledge, resources and tools available to us at that time. Sometimes we must throw away the old recipes and start from scratch. As the saying goes, “old keys, won’t unlock new doors”. We must embrace the new beginnings and new opportunities each new, day, month and year. Your new year doesn’t have to begin when the clock strikes midnight but whenever you decide that you can choose the life you want to live and begin doing just that! Before we know it, the new beginnings will have been exhausted. To ensure that you don’t allow your new beginnings to come to an end before you are able to seize them, implement these 8 steps in whatever way works best for you.

1.       Manage your time effectively.

2.       Focus with intentionality.

3.       Do those things that you always wanted to.

4.       Maintain good habits.

5.       Be solution oriented.

6.       Surround yourself with people who push you forward and want you to excel. Gain new knowledge.

7.       Find your purpose and walk in it.

8.       Live, laugh, love every day and in every way.