Re-Setting Our Life Agenda - Begin Again

Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation on resetting our life agenda and beginning afresh,

Beginning again.

In the evening of life we will be judged on love alone.

That's a quote from St John of the Cross.

In the evening of life we will be judged on love alone.

We take our inspiration for these meditations from East and West,

From North and South,

From past and present.

These twelve words from St John of the Cross are a reminder to us of what is really important in life.

When our life draws to an end,

And in our last minutes and seconds,

What will count is not money in the bank,

That will be spent when we are gone,

It will be spent very quickly,

Fame,

Fame is a passing phenomenon.

As A.

J.

Milchok puts it,

Status doesn't matter,

Fame doesn't matter.

You have to be ready,

You have to be really,

Really grounded in who you are and feel good as a person inside.

What we'll live on in those we've influenced and in the people who come after them is how we have loved.

And hopefully as a result of this meditation today we can all begin again.

We can press reset on the direction of our lives.

We can resolve to live in such a way that we will be remembered as people who loved.

Wouldn't it be great to be remembered above all else as a person who loved?

So to begin,

Let's bring ourselves into a moment of quiet for this reflection.

Leave aside any plans,

Any worries that might be on your mind,

The list of things that you must do.

That list is important,

Lists are a help,

But there will be time for lists later on.

For now,

Leave all worries and concerns outside the door and close the door while you listen to this meditation.

Make sure you are sitting comfortably,

You can close your eyes if you wish,

Whatever suits.

But above all else,

Let yourself become really present,

Really here,

Really relaxed.

Let's give ourselves just 60 seconds,

One minute,

For a time of total relaxation.

We deserve this treat.

Someone once described silences like this as the fellowship of silence.

So let's enjoy the fellowship of silence for this minute.

For more information on the fellowship of silence,

Please visit the website www.

Mooji.

Org Welcome back.

Those of us old enough to remember Jesus Christ Superstar,

The 1970s rock opera,

With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice,

You may remember the song entitled Could We Start Again Please?

How often do we think and wish,

Could we start again please?

And the good news is,

Yes we can.

We can start again even today,

Even tomorrow.

How many of us could honestly look back on our lives and say sincerely that if we had our lives to live over again,

We would do the very same things?

Maybe some of us would,

Thanks to a decent dose of good fortune,

Or thanks to a special supply of intelligence,

Or extraordinarily positive genes.

With the aid of these things we might be able to honestly say that we would leave everything unchanged.

But I imagine the majority of us,

Most of us,

Would,

If we had the chance,

Do things differently the second time around.

When we think about our opening quote from St.

John of the Cross,

In the evening of life we will be judged on love alone.

We are tempted to ask ourselves,

If we were to be judged just now,

How would we fare out if love was the measure in the balancing scales of life?

But all is not lost.

Mimi Novik tells us,

Don't look to the past with sorrow,

You'll never walk there again.

Look to the now and make it beautiful.

That quote from Mimi reminds us that the future lies ahead of us,

And the future is in our hands.

So maybe at this stage we'll have another pause for reflection and ask ourselves,

What are we living for right now?

What is the purpose,

The driving force,

In our lives just now?

What is the motivating force,

The motivating factor behind how we act today?

Another one minute pause.

Welcome back.

Now that exercise which we performed was not designed to send us into a state of depression or regret,

Or to leave us with a feeling of disappointment in regard to our motivation.

Hopefully many of us will have found that our motivation is decent and honourable most of the time.

But some of us may have found that our motivation could do with being turned in a slightly better direction.

And all of us,

The best and the worst of us,

Can each take a step forward and improve our performance in the future.

Arnold Bennett reminds us that the chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance.

The next year,

The next day,

The next hour are lying ready for you,

As perfect,

As unspoiled,

As if you'd never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life.

He says you can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.

Helpful and positive advice there from Arnold Bennett.

Now although Arnold Bennett tells us you can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose,

And that is true,

We do need some aids to assist us if we are to make a meaningful new resolution.

I'm from Ireland as you know,

And in my youth and childhood this country was predominantly Roman Catholic.

In that tradition there was and is the practice of confession.

This involved a person confessing his or her sins and misdemeanours to a priest,

Usually in a darkened structure called a confession box.

Now just to explain for the benefit of those who may not know,

Every church has or had a number of these boxes along the side aisles of the church.

There were three sections to each confession box.

The priest sits in the middle compartment and the penitents sit in the compartments to the right and to the left of the priest.

The priest opens a little window to either the right or the left in turn to hear the confession of the penitent who is kneeling in that particular section,

In that darkened space.

The absence of light there,

I mean the priest's section was lit,

The penitent's section wasn't lit.

The absence of light was to help avoid embarrassment and to avoid some element of privacy for the penitent.

This recitation of false was accompanied by what was called an act of contrition,

And that involved a firm purpose of amendment.

Words such as,

Never more to offend and to amend my life.

The priest then,

Acting in the name of God,

Pronounced words of absolution,

Following which the penitent emerged relieved and with a burden of guilt lifted.

The process had the clear advantage of producing a psychological clean sheet.

It allowed a person to begin again,

Strengthened by that firm purpose of amendment and with the advantage of a clean sheet.

So in our time we have to try to find some substitute for this firm purpose of amendment.

That purpose is so important when it comes to making a firm resolution and making a new start.

We need some trigger points or reminders of some sort when we make these resolutions.

Now there are certain times of the year when we are provided with these ready-made opportunities to change for the better.

There are days such as birthdays,

Anniversaries,

New Year's Day itself,

Which are the obvious starting points.

But even so,

The day chosen needs to have a meaningful run in if we are to find the momentum to change for the better.

If you consider for a moment a smoker trying to give up cigarettes,

We all know that a vague intention,

I must give up cigarettes,

Is one thing.

But a period of decision-making resulting in a firm commitment is something else and is much more likely to lead to success.

The smoker really needs to want to give up the habit.

And when it comes to the matter of our resolutions,

We too need to want to change for the better.

Nicky Rowe offers us encouragement in coming to a firm decision.

Any new beginning can start now,

And if you want anything badly enough,

You'll find the courage to pursue it with all you have.

The past doesn't have to be the future.

Stop making it so.

Now sometimes circumstances shock us into making a long overdue change in our approach to life.

An example would be the death of a friend or a relative.

You find yourself with a reminder that we all will leave this world at some point.

Hearing a eulogy can be a reminder of how good a life can be.

We hear about the lives of our deceased friends,

Our deceased relatives,

The efforts they made,

The kind deeds performed,

And we wish we could be more like that person.

This can act as a reminder of our own unused talents.

It can bring to mind our own missed opportunities up to this point.

And it can be just the inspiration we need to do better.

We must realise we are not bound by the past.

We can change.

We can be more than we have been up to this.

Our bad choices are choices made yesterday,

But this was in the limited light and in the special circumstances of yesterday.

But today is a new day,

And tomorrow is another new day.

A day is filled with possibility if we really make up our minds to set sail in a new direction.

See,

Joy Bell C says,

No,

This is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

This is the beginning of a new book.

That first book is already closed,

Ended and tossed into the seas.

This new book is newly opened,

Has just begun.

Look,

It is the first page,

And it is a beautiful one.

Our next pause is to allow a few moments to consider what it is we need to change,

So that we can in time look back on a life more filled with love and kindness.

This pause is to allow each of us to consider some simple step that we can take in order to leave this world a little better than we found it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson describes the good life this way,

To laugh often and much,

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,

To leave the world a better place,

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

And as we pause,

We might keep in mind Mary Oliver's question to us.

Tell me,

What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Another one minute pause.

What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Another one minute pause.

Welcome back.

Now having gained inspiration to make a change for the better,

What can we do to help reinforce this decision?

One,

We can confirm in our own minds that we really want to make this change for the better.

Two,

Keep it manageable,

Concentrate on just one area requiring improvement.

Three,

We can and we should write down what we have decided to improve.

This is a covenant with ourselves,

So we date and sign it.

Four,

Find an inspirational quote which we can place in a prominent position to remind us of the resolution,

And date and sign it as well.

Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.

And from Clarissa,

Pincola,

Estes,

We have this thought.

It is not the failure that holds us back,

But the reluctance to begin over again that causes us to stagnate.

So now to end our reflection,

I will read a form of rededication that I have already included in one of the recorded meditations here on Insight Timer.

It could be used as a form of morning prayer or a morning offering,

And I hope it helps you on your way each day.

Today I rededicate myself to the doing of good.

Today I will make a special effort to be kind.

Today I will stand up for what is right.

Today I will defend the underdog.

Today I will perform one act of unexpected generosity.

Today I will offer some words of appreciation.

Today I will hold my tongue when tempted to complain.

Today I will thank someone for something they have long forgotten they did for me.

Today I will act as a bridge over troubled water.

Today I will be a safe port in a storm,

A calm voice in a crisis.

Today I will look into the eyes of people who provide a service for me.

Today I will smile when I speak.

Today I will listen,

Really listen when other people speak to me.

Today I will ask someone,

Are you OK,

In a meaningful way?

And I will watch out and hope for an answer that leads to a place of connection and support.

I will ask someone,

Are you OK?

Today I will be thankful that I am alive today.

And today I rededicate myself to the doing of good,

So that tomorrow the world will be a little better because I have lived in this world today.

Let's pause for one more minute of silent reflection.

Let's pause for one more minute of silent reflection.

And now before the very end of this meditation,

Let's bring ourselves back into the present moment.

Bringing your attention back to the breath.

Conscious of our feet on the floor.

Aware of the chair we are sitting in.

Conscious of our back being supported by the chair.

Noticing ourselves breathing in,

Breathing out.

And placing our hands on our chest.

Noticing again that amazing,

Reliable heartbeat keeping us here.

That wonderful heartbeat.

And always remembering to give thanks again and again for this amazing existence of ours.

Giving thanks for one another,

All of us sharing these meditations on this app.

The support of one another.

An Irish blessing.

May your joys be as bright as the morning,

And your sorrows merely be shadows that fade in the sunlight of love.

May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet,

Enough trials to keep you strong,

Enough sorrow to keep you human,

Enough hope to keep you happy,

Enough failure to keep you humble,

Enough success to keep you eager,

Enough friends to give you comfort,

Enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness,

Enough wealth to meet your needs and one thing more,

Enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the one before.

And so the Divine in me bows to the Divine in you.

Namaste.