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Financial Journey
(featured column)
Spring is the Perfect Time for New Beginnings
by Karen Kuebler
Having just celebrated the New Year, and with the
promise of Spring approaching shortly, my mind has been drawn toward thoughts of
“New Beginnings.” The past
month has been filled with very challenging difficulties and significant loss
for our family. In spite of
distress that feels insurmountable, each new day brings hope and promise. More...
I recently read a quote that was so applicable by
Kahlil Gibran: "Joy and sorrow are
inseparable... together they come and when one sits alone with you... remember
that the other is asleep upon your bed." I wanted to focus
this article on thoughts of hope and new beginnings for the coming months.
Following are
some cost effective ideas to help us look to the future and create new joy in
our lives:
 | Rekindle
old friendships and resolve any unmended fences with family and friends.
Life is too short to allow feelings of resentment or bitterness to
come in the way of relationships and the opportunity to share rewarding
memories.
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| Start
a journal and fill it with all of your goals and dreams for the future.
Don’t censure what you write.
If it pops into your head, write it down.
Putting a goal in writing is the first step toward making it happen.
Even if you only achieve a fraction of your dreams in your lifetime,
you will be further ahead than many who never attempt to try.
| Plant
a new garden A
small garden can be a constant reminder of the beauty in life, and each new
bloom represents a joyful new beginning.
| Open
a new savings account for one of your goals you recorded in your
journal. Deposit a little
something each week, no matter how small.
As the savings grows, you will become more hopeful about realizing
one of your dreams. Hope
creates it’s own internal reward system!
| Begin
a new hobby that you have wanted to do, but have never gotten around to
it. Sign up for a class, join a
club, or get together with a friend who shares your interest in this new
hobby. You will find
yourself making new friends, while learning something new.
I find the creativity that comes in learning a new hobby really
inspires me and just makes me feel better inside.
| Declutter start with one small corner and discover how clearing out the old makes
room for the new. You will feel
like you’ve removed old mental cobwebs and it will bring some peace of
mind. Set a small time limit
each day to do this – even 15 minutes.
Set up a few boxes; one for charity, one for garbage, one for
recycling to give to friends or family.
If you are uncertain about an item, keep a box especially for those
things. In a few months, look
at them again, and you’ll have a better idea what you want to do with
those things.
| Volunteer
for a cause that matters to you. Even
if you are limited in time, you can find an hour or two a week to do
something to help others. You’ll
be amazed how helping others will create new beginnings for you and bring
renewed meaning into your life.
| Write
at least one letter a week to say hello and share your thoughts and love
with somebody important in your life. Think
how great it would feel to receive one note a week from others that care
about you. If you start writing
notes to others, you’ll probably start receiving more in return.
| Welcome
new neighbors when they move in. I’ve
tended to be shy about this in the past, but have learned how much it means
to be made to feel welcome. Invite
them for dinner – you might just find that you really hit it off and make
new friends.
| Console
those who need comfort Giving
of yourself to comfort another will not only help the other person, but will
make you feel a whole lot better about life.
| Always
have a book to read and read something new continuously.
If you read one book a month, over 10 years you will have read 120
new books. Think about all you
will have learned that you would have missed by not continually reading
something new. |
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I hope some of
these ideas will inspire you to try something new this year.
I believe we are evolving beings, and I especially feel inspired when I
can look back and see how far I have come in five years or ten years time.
Life is filled with all kinds of New Beginnings, and they are there for
the taking if we just reach out and grab them!
* * *
Copyright
© 2004 by Karen Kuebler Want more
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