Do We Ever Graduate?

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”  Seneca the Younger

We are hosting a graduation party for our oldest grandchild, Gabrielle. She has invited friends and we have extended invitations to many family members. Earlier this year, she walked across the stage to receive her diploma in Interior Design from Auburn University. A proud moment for parents and grandparents.

Is it over? Absolutely not. It is only the beginning. She has just started on a new leg of her life. And, this will not be the last beginning. There will be others.

All of us at some point have graduated – from grammar school, high school or college. From a class to learn a new hobby or skill. We may have a framed certificate showing that we learned enough about a certain subject to receive the document that proclaims our new knowledge.

Have we graduated? In a sense, all of our graduations throughout life are really just new beginnings. We are always tested after receiving an award or certificate that evaluates our understanding of what we learned. All graduations are just beginnings.

Where is the end? It does not exist. There are only beginnings. Only starts. Only a new world that we have yet to discover. Even the ancient philosophers suggest that death is the ultimate beginning – the real start into the next life.

“And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?”  Kahlil Gibran

Having passed the average retirement age, you could presume that I have been around for a while. Yet, I am enjoying new beginnings. One example is that I am taking piano lessons for the first time in my life. I am very excited about this new venture. There is uncertainty in the outcome. How well will I do?  How will I handle all the required hours of practice? The discipline? Have you asked similar questions when starting a new quest?

Is this not what I have been writing about for years? That which I have lived for decades in my own journey? I will practice what I preach. And, I can do that, by embracing a new beginning.

My mom was 47 when she got her GED. Then, she went to nursing school and gave 25 years of her live to being a great nurse, serving others.

It is not too late! 

What is your new beginning? What beginning would you like to have? What have you not started but would like to start? When will you?

It is not too late! New beginnings are not limited to young adults, like our granddaughter Gabrielle. My mom proved this at age 47. And, I embrace a new venture at my age.

Today, I start a new beginning . . .