“…there are no endings, only pauses when
we look for new beginnings once again.”
~Grace E. Easely

These words to a poem I read and memorized years ago always come back to me when I get to the end of something. I think Grace Easely hit upon a genius idea when she realized that every ending is really a new beginning.

Today ends my 31-day challenge, but it is the beginning of something else that’s new. Perhaps a weekly post? It really has been a challenge to write every day, and while I did not succeed in that, I did write more often than I have in the past year. I am happy about that.

More importantly, I accomplished my main goal: blogging about the final stops of my epic cross-country, poetry-reading road trip of 2013 . Speaking of the road trip, that was another ending that marked a new beginning for me. I remember getting back to L.A. and feeling like I couldn’t just go back to “normal life” (whatever that means) after such an incredible journey.

I got back and started dreaming of even more epic adventures. Who wants to get back to the mundane  after such a grand adventure? I decided that I would train for and eventually compete in a triathlon. I haven’t gotten very far with that yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a matter of time until I make it happen.

That road trip changed me in ways I am not yet able to fully articulate. I felt lonely and scared silly the first day I hit the road. I couldn’t believe I was taking a cross-country road trip on my own! What if I got stranded in the desert with no gas, or in deep snow with no chains for my tires? On top of all that, several places where I planned to stop along the way had still not confirmed availability.

In the end, I was glad I took all those chances and set off on the journey with all its uncertainties, because they paid off. People came through and were amazingly supportive. I savored every exhausting mile, and found incredible joy in seeing how inspired others were by my courage and my creativity.

I was delighted to find unexpected reserves of strength, resilience, resourcefulness and tenacity within myself. I learned that even when something seems impossibly difficult, it can be conquered in small steps. It just takes faith and persistence. I lived the words of another famous poem: “…rest if you must, but don’t you quit.” I made it to the end, and so to another beginning.

So also today. This ending marks a pause, an opportunity to find a new beginning. I am excited to get back to writing weekly posts, and can’t wait to see what direction they will take. The joy is in the journey, and I hope you’ll come along and experience it with me. Until next week, adieu.

Image: Glen Jeffreys