path to el abismo (Photo credit: nicholaslaughlin)

It seems fitting that at this time of the year, when our thoughts are focused on endings and beginnings, that I should discover this amazing paragraph about the “seduction” of beginnings. In the event that you are facing the new year with trepidation, I trust that this quote serves as encouragement and ushers you on your way towards the abundant blessings that await you.

“There is a certain innocence about beginning, with its excitement and promise of something new. But this will emerge only through undertaking some voyage into the unknown. And no one can foretell what the unknown might yield. There are journeys we have begun that have brought us great inner riches and refinement; but we had to travel through dark valleys of difficulty and suffering. Had we known at the beginning what the journey would demand of us, we might never have set out. Yet the rewards and gifts became vital to who we are. Through the innocence of beginning we are often seduced into growth.” ~ John O’Donohue, “To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings.” 

Blessings, Lydia

All will be Well. ~St. Julian of Norwich