The Joy of Newness

A couple of birthdays ago I thought that all my "firsts" were long gone. That wonderful feeling of newness, when something happens for the first time.. gone forever. I went into a brief oh-woes-me, feeling terribly sorry for myself. Then a strange thing happened: when something new did happen, no matter how small, my awareness of the newness of it increased, simply because I was now using some of my energy on thinking about it.

Shortly after this I was in the line for the Hard Rock Café in Orlando and the newly married couple behind us told us they were both studying to be doctors. I had an "aha" moment where I realized I'd never met anyone studying to be a doctor. Now I'd met two.

Okay, so big deal, right? Read on. These Moments of Newness as I like to call them, happen all the time, and sometimes they are so small that we miss the joy of it. The choice we have is to let the moments slip away mindlessly or be captured and treasured mindfully. Being mindful of these moments brings us a sense of joy, and wonder and satisfaction. I now wonder how many moments I missed, rushing through life. How about you???

These moments may simply be creating mindfulness, awareness and observation of events that happen all the time. Just open yourself to the possibilities of what you are missing!! When was the last time you actually looked at the sunset, not just shifting the visor in the car to cut the glare, or notice how the tops of the trees are starting to change colour ever so slightly, or just how blue your child's eyes are. These moments are all around us.

And the truly New Moments - trying a new food, meeting a new person, taking a new route home..

So here is your assignment: No matter how old you are, there is always Moments of Newness around you. You experience them daily. So, shift your mindset, look for the new moments. Enjoy these moments. Stop and breathe and savour the newness.

And if you choose, let me know what some of those moments are..

Anne Rose
August 2004