What exactly does it mean to start a new life? Obviously, the answer to this question is different for every person.

Some might like the chance to rebuild ruined relationships. Others may want to arrive at some degree of self-acceptance that was previously lacking. Maybe it means finding happiness with good friends or a loving partner, in fulfilling work, or through travel and adventure. Perhaps, it is about letting go of past hurts, once and for all.

The specifics are not all that important. What matters is getting to a point where every single ounce of strength isn’t just going towards holding oneself together, day in and day out – or getting to a point where this is even conceivable, in the first place.

Only when being alive is more than just free fall, one breath after another, does a certain consciousness emerge. Call it “mindfulness”, if you will.

The question then becomes not why one should live…but how.

And so follow more and more inquiries. What are my anchors? Where is my axis? On what bases do I choose to conduct my existence?

Then comes hope.
Then comes new life.

–SV