New Beginnings

I have begun noticing lately how often I think about my life in terms of starting over – not to completely change who I am…only the things I didn’t like about me in the past. We humans are always recreating ourselves as we adapt to our surroundings, change our ways and hopefully become better and better every year, month and day. Sometimes it’s not even about being better – just different. If we’re lucky, we can learn from the past and use what we learned to pave the way for a better future. This thought process creeps up whenever I think of something I don’t like about my past. If I begin feeling guilty because I’m not as good at life as I want, I turn those thoughts into future goals, most often after feeling sad because I’m disappointed in myself for a little while first. But I know that I can devote myself to changing. It’s easier said than done, as I have often revisited many of the same thoughts. But it is one of the great things about humanity. We can always be better.

While these reflections are often at the top of many people’s thoughts as we end a year and begin a new one, for me, right now, it’s as I begin a new year of teaching. But instead of focusing on the many specific things I could list that I want to do differently this year, I’m choosing to think of it more generically.

I just want to be better.

It is my hope that I can have the right view of each new day. Each day is a chance. A chance to live. A chance to love. A chance to share. I hope to see everything around me the way my Dad has taught me to see the world. And I hope to be more and more the person I was made to be.

But the practicality of life is that I do need to be conscious of some things that require lots of hard work and focus to improve. I do have a small list of those goals: draw closer to Dad and have better communication with Him, be the best Teacher I can be, develop a healthier lifestyle and prepare for what the future holds.

It is wonderful to be back in Wuhan. I’m glad to have another year to live and teach in China. I’m thankful for this one of life’s many surprises. (Picture taken in St. Augustine this summer - in the doorway to the oldest schoolhouse in America!)