Change, Chapters and Embracing the Future

Life is filled with different chapters. We have been through so many, and yet when it come times to close one we so often find ourselves buried in nostalgia and sadness. What if we embraced the next chapter with hope, optimism and excitement?

It feels like I am sort of “re-launching” my blog after taking six months away from it, and as I do so I have entered a new era in my life.

The chapter of parenthood has begun.

As I reflected on this, I thought about how our lives are often looked at as a series of eras, or chapters in a story.

As each new one begins, the previous one must end.

And so often with the closing of one chapter comes sadness, as we wonder whether life will be as good as it has been.

I can recall on so many occasions thinking that the era I was leaving was the best and couldn’t be topped.

I remember thinking nothing could be better than my final high school year. Then nothing could be better than being a university student. Then nothing would beat my time in Kentucky. Then nothing would beat my years living in the UK. Then nothing would beat my pre-baby life.

Guess what?

Without fail, the next era surpassed the previous one over and over again.

I don’t think it’s necessarily because one is “better” than the other. They are all different and relative to the stage of life I was in at the time. But each time, what the then unknown future held for me was better than I anticipated.

Is there a psychological reason that the previous chapter seems like it can’t be bettered? Perhaps it’s because the future holds uncertainty, and therefore no guarantees?

Whatever the reason, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic for the past we are leaving behind. But the old chapters don’t disappear. They are part of our very being, making us who we are. We carry those memories with us and most likely enjoy reminiscing about them from time to time.

And the next era? It can be the best one yet, if you just give it a chance. Entering a new one means new experiences, new opportunities, new reasons to feel joy and be grateful.

How many people have been worried about turning 30, 40, 50, 60 thinking the best of their life was over, only to enter a new decade of life and then announce that this was the best one yet?

Change is, almost without fail, always good for us. Personally, I know that I thrive on it, and yet it’s still easier said than done to not be afraid of “the end of an era”.

But when we get wrapped up in the sadness of a chapter of our lives closing, we are shutting out the excitement that the possibilities of a new era can bring.

If you’re always looking back, how can you know that what you’re in, or what’s to come, is worth enjoying?

So, if you are leaving an era and starting a new chapter and feeling sad for what has been or apprehensive for what is to come, ask yourself this: what if this new era is the best one yet?

That’s all for now,

Jordyn

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” - Dr Seuss

P.S. Stay tuned for my next blog where I write about my newest chapter - what a wild ride it is!